Sudan risks becoming the world’s largest hunger crisis in recent history as conflict continues to rage, destroying livelihoods, infrastructure, trade routes and supply chains.

A protracted famine is taking hold – the only place in the world at this level of hunger – and without humanitarian assistance, hundreds of thousands could die.

Famine was first confirmed in August 2024 in Zamzam IDP camp. Hundreds of thousands of lives are at risk. Families trapped inside the besieged state capital, El Fasher, face starvation, with the World Food Programme (WFP) unable to deliver food assistance by road for over a year. 

A total of 24.6 million people (around half the population) are acutely food insecure, while 637,000 (the highest anywhere in the world) face catastrophic levels of hunger.

Over 1 in 3 children are facing acute malnutrition – above the 20 percent threshold for a famine confirmation.

Sudan also faces the worst displacement crisis in the world, with 10 million people forced from their homes by conflict.

The World Food Programme (WFP) is supporting over 4 million people each month and pushing to expand this to 7 million. WFP assistance has helped reduce the risk of famine across six areas in Central Darfur and two areas in West Darfur – where nearly 1 million people have received regular WFP food or cash aid since June 2024. 

However, people in or at risk of famine are concentrated in areas where fighting is at its worst, making access very difficult. 

WFP and partners urge the international community to prioritize funding for humanitarian efforts and to use diplomatic channels to secure a ceasefire and unrestricted access.

We need US$645 million for operations across Sudan until November 2025.

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What the World Food Programme is doing to respond to the Sudan emergency

Emergency response
WFP reached a record of over five million people in May – a major achievement and critical progress in reaching severely hungry families after WFP’s relentless efforts to scale up assistance and expand operational access. WFP is doing everything possible to support people trapped in El Fasher (North Darfur) and Kadugli (South Darfur), where conflict has been raging for more than a year. We have trucks and food ready to move pending assurance of safe passage. WFP continues to provide digital cash support to 250,000 people in El Fasher, but this falls short of massive needs in the city. WFP is also scaling up assistance in areas where conflict has subsided, such as Khartoum State and Al Jazira – where over 1 million people have received assistance in the past three months.
Resilience
WFP manages activities designed to improve livelihoods and build resilience, focused on the relatively safe eastern state of Sudan. We support farmers in boosting agricultural production and reducing post-harvest losses. We also work with communities to increase livelihood opportunities, build or refurbish community infrastructure like schools or water points, and participate in cash-for-work activities - all of which in turn improve people's food security.
UNHAS
The WFP-managed United Nations Humanitarian Air Services has established air connections between Nairobi and Port Sudan and Amman and Port Sudan, which are already transporting frontline humanitarians from 69 organizations. In 2023, UNHAS facilitated nearly 200 international flights into and out of Port Sudan, transporting around 4,000 passengers and 18.2 MT of light humanitarian cargo from May to December 2023.
Logistics
The WFP-led Logistics Cluster provides storage services to 9 UN agencies and NGO partners at four locations in Port Sudan, Wad Madani, Kosti, and Gedaref. Thousands of tons of humanitarian supplies are passing through these hubs.
Emergency Telecommunications Cluster
The Emergency Telecommunications Cluster provides connectivity services in Port Sudan, Kassala and Kosti. In Port Sudan, the Cluster is providing connectivity to around 600 users from 37 partners across 28 sites. In Kassala, the Cluster provides connectivity to 70 users from 8 partners across 4 sites.

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