After nearly one year of conflict in Sudan, 18 million people face food insecurity

It has been almost a year since conflict broke out in Sudan, and the needs have never been greater. Nearly 18 million people, or a third of the population, are acutely food insecure. The conflict has triggered one of the world’s largest displacement crises, with nearly 11 million people displaced both internally and in countries around the world.

Nearly 25 million people are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance, including 14 million children. Fuel shortages, rising food prices, and a large-scale cholera outbreak are causing the situation to deteriorate further. Violence prevents humanitarian workers from accessing the hardest-hit communities, and many families are left without access to lifesaving health care and necessities.

The crisis in Sudan is one of the world’s most severe, but it is also largely forgotten. The last ten months of conflict have followed years of fighting and instability. The conflict is primarily taking place in the heart of Khartoum, the capital, with a devastating effect on the whole country. It has sparked not only the world’s biggest displacement crisis but also the largest child displacement crisis, with four million children displaced.

Until humanitarian workers can access Sudan’s most vulnerable communities, millions will go hungry. The conflict has destroyed key infrastructure, blocked transport systems, ruined water supply services, devastated healthcare facilities, and led to economic collapse.

People across the country are going to bed hungry each night. Displacement is causing food insecurity by disrupting harvests and limiting access to vital resources. Around 10% of Sudan’s population is on the brink of famine, while 27% are facing crisis levels of hunger. Disease outbreaks are worsening widespread hunger, as illnesses like cholera lead to diarrhea, weakness, malnutrition, and even death. Cholera levels have surpassed 10,000 cases.

The conflict in Sudan is a gender conflict

In November 2023, UN experts expressed alarm at the escalation of sexual violence during Sudan’s conflict. Women and girls are reportedly being raped and abducted, some of them forcibly married and held for ransom. Several sources have reported seeing women and girls chained in vans inside cars in inhumane conditions.

Action Against Hunger advocates for an end to gender-based violence. It is crucial to respond quickly and urgently to these reports.

Action Against Hunger’s team in Sudan is assisting survivors of gender-based violence through a mobile hotline. The organization’s health experts are setting up women’s centers and community protection networks, both to respond to immediate needs and pave the way for long-term support. Action Against Hunger teams also conduct awareness-raising sessions, train local health workers and community leaders on gender equality, set up school clubs to raise awareness of gender-based violence and advocate for inclusive and equitable communities.

An under-funded and under-accessed humanitarian response

It is more urgent than ever before for humanitarian workers to have guaranteed safe access to Sudan’s impacted communities. The intensification of hostilities is hampering the delivery of humanitarian aid, due to large-scale insecurity and movement restrictions. Fuel shortages and rising prices also impact transport costs. The international community faces significant obstacles to responding effectively and requires coordinated efforts to address the challenges and provide lifesaving assistance to Sudan.

Action Against Hunger urges the international community to recognize the scale of the crisis in Sudan and to quickly mobilize the necessary resources to save Sudan needs 2.7 billion dollars in humanitarian assistance—yet the country has only received $96.7 million to date, or 4% of the funding required.