A joint United Nations convoy led by the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has reached Dilling and Kadugli, two cities in Sudan’s South Kordofan State, carrying life-saving supplies for over 130,000 people. This 26-truck convoy marks the first major delivery of aid to the area in three months, as high levels of insecurity along the route had previously prevented such deliveries.
The residents of Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan, and Dilling, a nearby town, have endured prolonged sieges, with commercial and humanitarian supply routes largely cut off for more than two years, resulting in spiraling humanitarian needs. Recent analysis from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) indicates that famine is highly likely ongoing in both cities.
The UN convoy comprised 15 WFP trucks, 7 UNICEF trucks and 4 UNDP trucks, and transported essential supplies for medical care, food, nutrition, health, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and education. WFP delivered over 700 metric tons of food to support almost 70,000 people, including 21,000 mothers and children, providing them with specialised nutritious food to prevent malnutrition.
UNICEF’s cargo included vital items to support 40,000 children and their families with essential nutrition, health, education and WASH supplies. UNDP delivered 70 metric tons of medical supplies, including five months' worth of HIV, TB, and malaria medication from the Global Fund, as well as lifesaving medicines provided by the National Medical Supplies Fund.
“The arrival of this convoy is a critical lifeline for children who have been cut off from assistance for far too long,” said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF Representative in Sudan, in a statement on Wednesday.
“These supplies will allow UNICEF and our partners to continue lifesaving treatment for children suffering from severe acute malnutrition and to restore access to safe water, healthcare, and other essential services that every child has the right to.”
Intensified hostilities and insecurity along the Al Obeid–Dilling–Kadugli route forced the convoy to halt for over 40 days, delaying the mission and exposing communities to further risk. Ultimately, the convoy reached Dilling by navigating a longer, more difficult off-road passage.
“After weeks of delays and a difficult detour, these life-saving supplies, including food assistance, are finally reaching Dilling and Kadugli. This shows what is possible when we can push forward with humanitarian convoys, even in extremely challenging conditions,” said Makena Walker, acting Country Director for WFP in Sudan.
“Routes must stay open and predictable so vital assistance can reach people without interruption, including communities that have been cut off for far too long.”
The UN agencies underscore that sustained, predictable, and safe access is urgently required to prevent the humanitarian situation in South Kordofan from further deteriorating. South Kordofan is now the epicenter of the war in Sudan, which has caused the world’s largest humanitarian emergency.
“The arrival of lifesaving medicine in South Kordofan is a huge relief for patients who have watched stocks dwindle during the war. But now the clock starts ticking again,” said Luca Renda, UNDP’s Sudan representative.
“To keep patients alive, we have to ramp up support for national systems that can maintain regular deliveries all across Sudan, even while war continues.”
The United Nations is calling on all parties involved in the conflict to respect international humanitarian law and to allow immediate and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid to reach all civilians in need.
“It is now critical to build on this breakthrough by ensuring sustained access to people in need across South Kordofan and the wider Kordofan region UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Wednesday while briefing reporters in New York.
Dujarric added that funding remains essential.
“This year's humanitarian response plan calls for US$2.9 billion to reach more than 20 million people, that is two out of every five people in the country, in need across the country,” he said.
“We urge donors to maintain and step up their support”
However, the financial difficulties extend well beyond Sudan’s borders. The conflict is also creating an overwhelming demand for resources in neighboring countries as the region grapples with an unprecedented displacement crisis. Humanitarian resources are struggling to keep pace.
UNHCR seeks $1.6 billion to support 5.9 million refugees and host communities
To address the mounting needs of refugees, returnees, and host communities, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and its humanitarian partners are urgently requesting $1.6 billion to provide food, shelter, healthcare, protection, and dignified assistance to 5.9 million people in seven countries bordering Sudan by the end of the year.
The Sudan Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRP) for 2026, issued on Tuesday, will continue to prioritize aid for an estimated 470,000 new refugees expected to arrive in neighboring countries this year, as well as thousands more who remain in border areas and have received only the most basic assistance since their arrival.
The RRP also promotes longer-term solutions, such as helping governments include refugees in national systems and expand access to services.
“The need for a fourth annual appeal at this scale underscores the relentless impact of the war in Sudan, and a humanitarian response struggling to keep up,” said Mamadou Dian Balde, UNHCR's Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, speaking to journalists in Geneva on Tuesday.
Nearly three years since the war's outbreak, Sudan remains the world’s largest displacement crisis and the largest humanitarian crisis, unfolding in the wake of the most severe global funding shortfall in decades. Fighting continues in several parts of the country where essential services have collapsed, and humanitarian access remains restricted in many areas.
“Thousands of people continue to flee across borders each week, often arriving in already vulnerable yet generous regions, where public services and economic opportunities were limited even before the crisis,” Dian Balde said.
“While host governments and local communities continue to demonstrate remarkable solidarity, their capacity is being pushed to the brink.”
The widening gap between rising needs and shrinking resources threatens to undermine both emergency response efforts and medium-term solutions.
“With no clear path to peace and dwindling support, more and more refugees are losing hope, making the difficult decision to move onwards,” the UNHCR official said.
“Last year saw the number of Sudanese refugees making the dangerous journey to Europe nearly triple.”
UNHCR reiterates its call for stronger international backing and urges the addressing of the persistent underfunding of humanitarian operations in countries hosting those fleeing Sudan.
Of the millions of refugees, asylum seekers, and returnees who have sought refuge outside of Sudan since the war began in April 2023, more than 4.5 million remain displaced in the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan, and Uganda, the majority of whom are hosted in Egypt, South Sudan, and eastern Chad.
Meanwhile, the security situation in Sudan remains deeply alarming, particularly for civilians in active conflict zones.
More than 50 civilians killed in drone strikes
On Wednesday, Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed alarm at reports that over 50 civilians were killed in drone strikes by parties to the conflict in Sudan over two days this week.
“These latest killings are yet another reminder of the devastating consequences on civilians of the escalating use of drone warfare in Sudan,” Türk said.
“They also perpetuate a pattern that we have seen time and again in this conflict of attacks on civilian objects and infrastructure, including markets, health facilities and schools.”
According to the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR), separate drone attacks between Sunday and Monday reportedly killed at least 57 civilians, including 15 children, across four states in Sudan. However, not all casualties in these drone attacks have been determined yet.
“The continued attacks by all parties on civilian objects must stop. The parties must take urgent measures to protect civilians, including by refraining from the military use of civilian objects,” Türk said.
The High Commissioner renewed his call for both sides to stop the violence and embrace dialogue toward a ceasefire. He also reiterated his call to all states, particularly influential ones, to do everything in their power to end the arms transfers fueling the conflict and undermining the protection of civilians.