The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned on Monday that ongoing conflict and displacement, coupled with severe funding shortages, are exacerbating humanitarian needs across Sudan. In North Kordofan State, insecurity around the city of El Obeid continues to endanger civilians, forcing them to flee and increasing humanitarian needs.
As people still arrive in the city and surrounding areas in search of safety and assistance, control of El Obeid and the surrounding area remains highly contested, with the frontlines repeatedly shifting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Further disruption to the roads in and out of El Obeid will hinder efforts to provide humanitarian aid to those in need.
The capital of North Kordofan is a strategic trade and aid hub because it sits on major routes linking Khartoum with the Darfur region, the wider Kordofan region and the south of the country. This location has made it a key battlefield between the two warring parties, who have been fighting for power since April 2023.
Despite the challenging environment, the UN and its humanitarian partners are providing assistance to those in need in El Obeid. They are supplying around 133,000 people with some 2 million liters of safe drinking water amid severe water shortages in the city.
El Obeid normally has a population of over half a million, but this has almost doubled due to the arrival of large numbers of internally displaced people (IDPs). The town is crowded with IDPs, many of whom live in open camps or with host communities. Most IDPs are women and children who rely on access to clean water to survive. Furthermore, access to food, healthcare and other essential services is extremely limited, particularly in displacement sites.
Meanwhile, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that fighting in the Sirba locality of West Darfur State has displaced an estimated 18,000 people from over 20 villages since last week. Most of these people have reportedly fled across the border to Chad.
On Monday, OCHA once again called on all parties to protect civilians and facilitate rapid, safe, unhindered and sustained humanitarian access.
However, funding gaps are reducing the assistance available to those in need. In Central Darfur State, the recent closure of three health facilities due to funding shortages has left around 75,000 displaced individuals without adequate access to essential healthcare.
OCHA continues to urge donors to provide additional funding for the humanitarian response, as the international reaction to widespread suffering remains woefully inadequate. The 2026 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), which requires $2.9 billion to provide assistance to 20.4 million people, has only received 41 percent of the funding to date.
Refugees fleeing Sudan face months without shelter, safe water or healthcare in eastern Chad
On Friday, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) highlighted the plight of over 2,500 refugees who have been without adequate shelter, latrines, access to safe drinking water or food assistance for over six months while awaiting relocation from the Adémour transit site in Sila province, Chad.
After being alerted by the Chadian authorities to the deaths of five children under five, MSF launched an emergency response from May to July 2026.
“Our first assessments of the situation in Adémour confirmed cases of measles and malnutrition, while many people were suffering from diarrhea, parasitic infections, respiratory illnesses and skin diseases linked to limited access to safe water,” said Souley Harouna, MSF Head of Mission in Chad.
Over the course of two months, MSF teams provided free primary health care, including the prevention and treatment of malaria, sexual and reproductive health care, and the screening and treatment of malnutrition.
MSF stressed that the nutritional situation was alarming, with Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rates of over 37 percent and Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) rates of 8.4 percent recorded, illustrating the severity of the humanitarian situation and the urgent need for nutritional support.
The province of Sila is often less visible in the response to the Sudanese refugee crisis in Chad. Unlike Adré or Aboutengué, which have major border crossings and larger camps, Sila is more dispersed and remote, making it harder to reach with humanitarian assistance.
“Families often arrive in smaller groups and end up in spontaneous transit sites such as Adémour, where services are simply non-existent,” said Harouna.
By early July, almost all the refugees at the Adémour transit site had been relocated to the Kerfi refugee settlement. However, they still face no clear guarantees of adequate care, as minimum emergency standards for refugees and host communities in relocation sites are not being met.
Since the war in Sudan began, more than 940,000 Sudanese refugees have crossed into Chad, over 80 percent of them women and children. Since April 2023, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Chadian authorities have relocated more than 640,000 people from border transit sites inland. Chad is now hosting more than 1.55 million refugees.
The world's largest humanitarian emergency
With more than 14 million people forced to flee, Sudan is experiencing the world's largest displacement crisis and the world's largest humanitarian emergency. Of those displaced, around 9 million remain within Sudan's borders, while almost 5 million have fled to neighboring countries such as Chad due to ongoing warfare and previous conflicts.
As Sudan's armed forces continue to battle the RSF militia for control of this vast country, the nation is facing an unprecedented humanitarian emergency. An estimated 33.7 million people — nearly two-thirds of Sudan's population, including over 20 million children — currently require assistance and protection due to the war that began more than three years ago.
Intense fighting broke out on April 15, 2023, between the SAF and the RSF in the capital city of Khartoum. The violence quickly escalated and spread across Sudan, forcing millions to flee their homes. The conflict began as a power struggle between the SAF and the RSF and has resulted in the collapse of healthcare, food systems and civilian protection nationwide.
This war is being waged with unprecedented brutality against civilians, particularly in the Darfur and Kordofan regions. The RSF, in particular, has been implicated in mass killings and rape as a means of warfare. However, both warring parties have been accused of grave war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Rapid Support Forces have also been accused of genocide.
Furthermore, Sudan is currently experiencing the world's most serious hunger crisis. Nearly 20 million people in the country are facing acute hunger, including 5 million in emergency conditions. It is projected that the number of people facing catastrophic hunger will increase from 135,000 to 200,000 between June and September.