Sudan Faces Rising Famine Risk as Conflict, Drought and Hunger Deepen Crisis

An El Niño-related drought affecting roughly half of Sudan is adding further pressure by reducing food production and water availability, weakening livelihoods and pushing food prices higher.

Sudan is facing a rapidly worsening food and nutrition emergency, with parts of Greater Darfur and Greater Kordofan at growing risk of famine as conflict, displacement, drought and severe funding shortages leave millions of people with shrinking access to food, health care and clean water.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, of which the World Health Organization is a member, has issued a new Food Insecurity and Malnutrition Alert warning that conditions are deteriorating across several parts of the country. The situation is being driven by prolonged fighting that has forced families from their homes, disrupted markets and livelihoods, damaged basic services and made humanitarian operations increasingly difficult.

An El Niño-related drought affecting roughly half of Sudan is adding further pressure by reducing food production and water availability, weakening livelihoods and pushing food prices higher. Communities already struggling with displacement and insecurity are now facing a combination of hunger, disease risk and limited access to treatment, creating dangerous conditions for children and other vulnerable groups.

Darfur and Kordofan emerge as major areas of concern

The IPC Alert points to alarming levels of acute food insecurity and malnutrition in several localities, including areas that have recently emerged as new centres of concern. Greater Darfur and Greater Kordofan are facing some of the most serious risks, with conflict and humanitarian access constraints making it difficult to deliver food, nutrition support and medical care where needs are greatest.

The lack of functioning health services is making the crisis more deadly because people weakened by hunger are more vulnerable to severe illness. Clean water is also becoming harder to find in many places, increasing the risk of disease outbreaks among communities already suffering from poor nutrition.

The IPC has called for an end to hostilities, stronger protection of civilians and measures to safeguard food, water and health systems. It has also urged safe and sustained humanitarian access to frontline areas, particularly in North and West Kordofan, along with a major expansion of lifesaving assistance backed by flexible and predictable funding.

WHO treats thousands of severely malnourished children

WHO is supporting health and nutrition services across Sudan, including treatment for children suffering from severe acute malnutrition with medical complications and emergency responses to outbreaks such as cholera and measles.

Malnutrition makes infections more dangerous because weakened bodies have less ability to fight disease, meaning children suffering from severe hunger can become critically ill more quickly when exposed to common infections.

During 2026, WHO provided training, medical supplies and other support to all 161 operational nutrition stabilization centres in the country. Between January and August, these centres helped treat more than 26,000 children with severe acute malnutrition and related medical complications.

The scale of the response is being constrained by a health system that has been heavily damaged by years of conflict. Many communities have lost access to clinics, hospitals, medicines and trained health workers, leaving families with few options when malnutrition or disease becomes life-threatening.

Attacks and funding shortages push health system closer to collapse

Since April 15, 2023, WHO has verified 228 attacks on health care in Sudan, resulting in 2,055 deaths and 817 injuries. By 2026, about 37% of health facilities across the country were no longer functioning, placing even greater pressure on facilities that remain open.

Funding shortages are adding another major obstacle. WHO has received only 23% of the US$97.7 million requested through its humanitarian appeal, limiting its ability to expand health, nutrition and hygiene services as needs continue to rise.

WHO is calling for increased financial support and sustained humanitarian access so essential services can reach people in the hardest-hit areas before conditions deteriorate further.

The latest IPC warning shows that Sudan's crisis is no longer being driven by a single factor. Conflict, drought, displacement, hunger, damaged health services and underfunded humanitarian operations are reinforcing one another, leaving vulnerable communities at greater risk of malnutrition, disease and death unless assistance reaches them quickly and at much larger scale.