Sudan faces worsening famine as UN warns millions at risk of starvation

The United Nations' World Food Programme warned that the ongoing war in Sudan, combined with cuts to humanitarian funding and rising production costs, is deepening the country's food crisis. About five million people are now experiencing catastrophic levels of hunger, with more than 100,000 civilians in the highest IPC Phase 5 alert. Overall, roughly 19.5 million Sudanese are facing acute food insecurity.

Humanitarian assistance has been reduced from covering five million people a year to only 3.5 million, amid a funding shortfall of roughly $646 million after major donors such as the United States, European Union members and the United Kingdom cut contributions. Rising diesel prices and fertilizer shortages, linked to the Middle‑East war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, are further threatening agricultural production. Recent clashes near El Obeid in North Kordofan raise concerns that aid routes could be blocked, echoing the siege of El Fasher in Darfur, while the Tiné border crossing to Chad has been closed, limiting aid flow.