Sudan's humanitarian collapse

Sudan’s war has entered a fourth year with more than 33 million people now estimated to need humanitarian assistance. (unocha.org) The fighting began on April 15, 2023, as a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces turned Khartoum and other cities into battlefields. By April 2026, the United Nations says the war has driven about 14 million people from their homes. (apnews.com) Sudan is now effectively split between the two forces: the army has regained much of central Sudan and Khartoum, while the Rapid Support Forces still hold most of Darfur and parts of Kordofan. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said on April 13 that both sides continue to commit serious violations with “increasing intensity and impunity.” (aljazeera.com) (ohchr.org) Hospitals have become part of the war. The World Health Organization said on April 14 that a recent strike on El Daein Teaching Hospital in East Darfur killed at least 64 people, including children and health workers, and left the facility non-functional. (who.int) The World Health Organization said it has verified 217 attacks on health care since April 2023, causing more than 2,000 deaths and 810 injuries. It said 37 percent of health facilities are now non-functional, with the worst collapse in areas where fighting continues. (who.int) Food and cash are failing at the same time. The 2026 Sudan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan says 14 million people are “urgently prioritized,” 2.3 million face catastrophic levels of need, and the appeal was only 16.6 percent funded when it was last updated. (humanitarianaction.info) (news.un.org) The scale has worsened even from last year. The same United Nations planning data shows the estimate for people in need rose from 30.4 million in 2025 to 33.7 million in 2026. (humanitarianaction.info) Aid groups say access is blocked by front lines, insecurity and competing authorities. Doctors Without Borders said on April 15 that violence, impunity and restrictions on humanitarian access have compounded the collapse of Sudan’s health system. (msfsouthasia.org) The army and the Rapid Support Forces each accuse the other of abuses, and both deny responsibility for some attacks on civilians. International investigators have instead said violations by both sides remain widespread as the war spreads deeper into Darfur, Kordofan and densely populated urban areas. (apnews.com) (ohchr.org) Three years after the first shots in Khartoum, Sudan’s emergency is no longer a single battle or a single famine warning. It is a country where front lines, hunger, disease and displacement are all expanding faster than the relief effort. (apnews.com) (unocha.org)