WFP warns El Obeid is becoming the new epicentre of Sudan's displacement and hunger crisis

Food insecurity and conditions in the region

• The city of El Obeid is hosting hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people, possibly doubling the size of the city, and placing additional pressures on already overstretched resources and services. Food, fuel, and water supplies are scarce.
• Camps for displaced families in the city are beyond capacity and new families are arriving daily, coming from the Kordofan’s and even as far as Darfur. 
• Further displacement and destruction of livelihoods will significantly worsen food security in the whole region and increase the risk of malnutrition among young children and pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and girls.
• Regular power outages are disrupting water supplies in El Obeid, contributing to shortages of safe drinking water. More than 30 new cholera cases have been recorded.
• Nearly 400,000 people across Sheikan district, which includes El Obeid, as well as neighbouring Bara and Gharb Bara districts, are already experiencing emergency levels of acute food insecurity (IPC 4). This means they need immediate food assistance to prevent hunger-related deaths.

WFP’s response in the region

• WFP is assisting just over 100,000 people in El Obeid, primarily with food but also some cash assistance. Severe funding shortfalls mean people only receive 50 percent rations. 
• In some cases, people are sharing their limited food rations with other families in need, further reducing overall food support they receive. 
• Commercial transport within El Obeid has become a challenge due to a lack of fuel. 
• WFP trucks are helping to move 200 metric tons of food each day from NGO partner warehouses to food distribution points.
• In May, the WFP-led Logistics Cluster launched common storage services in El Obeid, providing partners with 500 square metres of storage space for lifesaving relief supplies used by humanitarian partners.
• Food stocks are being positioned to scale-up the provision of hot meals and in-kind food assistance to more than 250,000 people in or around El Obeid, if conditions allow.
• Supplies for a potential El Obeid response have been redirected from stocks originally intended for rainy season prepositioning. This means WFP will not be able to support communities as planned during the rainy season, which has already begun in parts of the country.

Challenges and funding requirements:

• WFP’s Sudan operation is under severe strain. More than 19.5 million people are acutely food insecure - including an estimated 770,000 in 14 locations at risk of famine - but WFP has only been able to reach an average of 3 million people each month due to access and funding constraints.
• Armed clashes, drone strikes, and insecurity continue to restrict humanitarian movements and limit WFP’s ability to reach priority populations. In June alone, active conflict prevented WFP from delivering lifesaving assistance to an estimated 200,000 people.
• Critical funding shortfalls are putting continued food assistance at risk. Based on current planning for lifesaving operations, WFP’s food stocks will be severely depleted by September and fully exhausted in October. Specialized food to prevent and treat malnutrition will start running out in August. 
• WFP requires USD 646 million from June to November 2026 to reach a planned 8.5 million people with lifesaving assistance and support to rebuild food production.
• Without sustained funding and safe access, hard-won gains in the fight against hunger risk being reversed, including in areas where regular WFP assistance has helped reduce the risk of famine.