Sudan hunger crisis
Humanitarian groups say Sudan’s food emergency is moving from scarcity to deliberate deprivation, with war-driven tactics cutting people off from farms and markets and pushing communities toward famine conditions. (actionagainsthunger.org) NGOs report millions surviving on one meal a day and some people resorting to eating leaves and animal feed as communal kitchens falter and donor funding falls short. (english.aawsat.com) The pattern extends regionally: Human Rights Watch says both sides in South Sudan are blocking aid and displacing civilians, with MSF reporting at least 58 deaths in one area over a four-week period. (hrw.org)
Sudan’s hunger crisis is no longer just about empty markets; aid groups say the war is now blocking people from getting food at every step. (reliefweb.int) A report published April 13 by Action Against Hunger, CARE, the International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps and the Norwegian Refugee Council says conflict is disrupting farming, transport, trade and cooking in North Darfur and South Kordofan. The groups said millions of people in heavily affected areas are living on one meal a day or less. (care.org) The same report said some families are skipping meals, shrinking portions and eating leaves or animal feed. It also said community kitchens across Sudan are closing or cutting meal service by 50 percent or more as funding falls. (nrc.no) The backdrop is two years of war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, which began in April 2023 and has fractured supply routes, displaced millions and left much of the country dependent on aid. Action Against Hunger says 30.4 million people in Sudan now need assistance and more than 12.8 million have been displaced. (actionagainsthunger.org) Independent food security monitors have already recorded famine in parts of Sudan. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said in November 2025 that El Fasher in North Darfur and Kadugli in South Kordofan were in Famine, or Phase 5, and that conditions were expected to persist through January 2026. (ipcinfo.org) That assessment also found 21.2 million people in Sudan faced acute food insecurity at Phase 3 or worse in September 2025, including 6.3 million in Emergency and 375,000 in Catastrophe. The April 13 aid agency report focuses on how people are being cut off before food ever reaches a plate. (reliefweb.int) Reuters reported April 13 that the new findings come as donor support weakens and the crisis threatens to spread further. Al Jazeera, citing the same aid group report, said the worst conditions were reported in North Darfur and South Kordofan. (usnews.com) The pattern is not confined to Sudan’s side of the border. Human Rights Watch said on April 12 that South Sudan’s military and opposition forces have blocked aid and issued sweeping evacuation orders since late 2025, forcing hundreds of thousands of civilians to flee. (hrw.org) In Jonglei state, Human Rights Watch said about 280,000 people have been displaced, and Radio Tamazuj reported that around 3,000 people sheltering in swamps in Nyirol county lacked food and medical care. Doctors Without Borders, known by its French name Médecins Sans Frontières, reported at least 58 deaths there over four weeks. (radiotamazuj.org) The immediate question is whether aid agencies can keep food moving before Sudan’s next lean season and rains make access even harder. The new reports describe a region where hunger is being driven not only by shortage, but by the war around it. (actionagainsthunger.org)
