The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the UN World Food Programme (WFP), and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned on Friday that approximately 19.5 million people — two out of every five in Sudan — are currently experiencing crisis-level acute hunger or worse nationwide. Sudan is also facing a severe nutrition crisis, with an estimated 825,000 children under five suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, of those currently experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity, more than 5 million are experiencing emergency levels (IPC Phase 4), while a further 14 million are facing crisis levels (IPC Phase 3). Conditions are expected to deteriorate further during the lean season between June and September.
The IPC analysis also reveals that 135,000 individuals across 14 hotspots in North Darfur State, South Darfur State, and South Kordofan State are currently experiencing catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5). These individuals are at risk of famine in the coming months should the conflict intensify, access to food becomes more limited, health services deteriorate, or displacement increases.
As the war has entered its fourth year, the protracted hunger crisis in Sudan shows little sign of abating, with violence, displacement, and severe humanitarian access constraints impacting children, families, and communities across the country.
On Friday, Ross Smith, the WFP Director of Emergencies and Response, told journalists in Geneva that famine has been stalking families in Sudan for far too long.
“This is not a sudden shock. It is a crisis – now in its fourth year - driven by relentless conflict, mass displacement, and the systematic erosion of people’s ability to feed themselves,“ he said.
“Families have exhausted every coping mechanism. Markets have collapsed. Agricultural production is severely disrupted. And access to food is increasingly out of reach.”
Intense fighting broke out on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the capital, Khartoum. The violence quickly spread across Sudan, forcing millions from their homes. What began as a power struggle between the SAF and the RSF has resulted in the collapse of healthcare, food systems and civilian protection nationwide.
The scale of the humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan is unprecedented. An estimated 33.7 million people — nearly two-thirds of Sudan's population — currently require humanitarian assistance and protection. Among those in dire need are over 20 million children.
However, humanitarian operations are unable to keep up with the scale of the need. Insecurity, bureaucratic impediments and attacks on supply routes are preventing aid from reaching the millions who urgently need it.
“Famine continues to threaten the people of Sudan, as hunger and malnutrition are threatening millions of lives right now,” said WFP Executive Director, Cindy McCain.
“WFP has been on the ground responding and is ready to do more, but humanitarian agencies cannot solve this alone. The international community must move now with funding, access and the political will to stop this crisis from becoming an even greater tragedy.”
Although the IPC analysis did not identify any areas currently experiencing famine, the Famine Review Committee (FRC) emphasizes that the situation remains extremely concerning due to displacement and the systematic obstruction of food, healthcare, water, and livelihoods in areas of ongoing conflict.
The FRC is gravely concerned about the dire situation in Sudan, particularly regarding the outlook in the coming months in the At Tina, Um Baru, and Kernoi areas of North Darfur State.
Um Baru and Kernoi recorded critical levels of malnutrition in December 2025. Acute malnutrition is expected to remain at extremely high levels in these localities, and additional areas are at risk of deteriorating, particularly besieged areas and areas with internally displaced people.
Acute malnutrition is widespread across Sudan, with an estimated 825,000 children under five expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in 2026. This is a seven percent increase compared to 2025 and 25 percent higher than pre-conflict levels recorded between 2021 and 2023.
Between January and March of this year alone, nearly 100,000 children were admitted for treatment of SAM, which can be fatal if not treated urgently.
“Across Sudan, children are trapped in a crisis of relentless violence, hunger and disease,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
“Many families have been displaced multiple times. Children suffering from severe acute malnutrition arrive at overstretched facilities too weak to cry. Without urgent action and sustained humanitarian access, more children will die.”
Conflict-driven displacement remains at extremely high levels, with nearly 14 million people still displaced due to ongoing warfare and earlier conflict. Many families are trapped in active conflict zones or have fled to remote areas where they have limited or no access to humanitarian assistance or basic services. However, approximately 4 million people have returned to their communities since last year.
Although the total number of internally displaced people has decreased, nearly 9 million remain displaced within Sudan's borders. To date, nearly 5 million people have sought refuge in neighboring countries due to the ongoing war or earlier conflict. These individuals urgently need support as well.
Neighboring countries are under mounting pressure. Chad hosts over 900,000 Sudanese refugees, and South Sudan hosts over 1.3 million refugees and returnees, despite facing its own humanitarian crisis. Egypt has received approximately 1.5 million people, and Libya has received over 500,000.
Inside Sudan, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, including markets, health facilities, water systems, and agricultural assets, has severely limited food production and access to essential services.
Around 40 percent of health facilities are nonfunctional, and an estimated 21 million people require health assistance. Simultaneously, approximately 17 million individuals lack access to clean drinking water, and 24 million lack access to adequate sanitation.
Repeated outbreaks of cholera, measles, malaria, dengue, hepatitis, diphtheria, and diarrhea are accelerating the deterioration of nutrition, especially among young children, pregnant women, and breastfeeding women.
“To prevent further loss of life and starvation, we must urgently scale up emergency agricultural assistance to boost local food production,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu.
“Supporting vulnerable farming families with seeds, tools, and inputs is one of the fastest and most effective ways to restore access to nutritious food and reduce dependence on aid. Humanitarian access and funding for these life-saving agricultural interventions must improve immediately and at scale.”
Meanwhile, humanitarian access constraints remain among the most severe in the world. Insecurity, bureaucratic impediments, attacks along supply routes, and the destruction of markets and means of production, as well as restrictions on the movement of people and goods, continue to prevent humanitarian actors from delivering assistance on the required scale.
As of today, only 21 percent of the US$2.86 billion required for Sudan's 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan has been funded. Humanitarian assistance remains critically inadequate compared to the scale of needs. From February to May, humanitarian organizations aimed to reach 4.8 million people per month. However, only an estimated 3.13 million people received assistance in February.
WFP, FAO, and UNICEF are calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities and urging parties to the conflict to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure and to provide safe, rapid, and unimpeded humanitarian access across conflict-affected areas.
The three UN agencies also urge the international community to urgently ramp up funding for food, emergency food production, nutrition, health, and WASH services, as well as support for rebuilding livelihoods.