UN Warns of Worsening Hunger Crisis as Sudan Conflict Displaces Millions

Millions fleeing Sudan’s ongoing civil war are at growing risk of hunger and malnutrition as they seek refuge in neighboring countries already struggling with food insecurity, the United Nations warned Monday.

The World Food Programme (WFP) said more than four million Sudanese refugees in countries such as Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, Uganda, and the Central African Republic face worsening food shortages as funding for critical food assistance programs begins to run out.

Since the war erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), an estimated 40,000 people have been killed and nearly 13 million displaced, including millions who have fled to neighboring states, according to UN agencies.

Inside Sudan, nearly half the remaining population faces acute food insecurity. The Sudan Doctors Network reported that in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur province, 239 children have died in the past six months due to malnutrition caused by severe shortages of food and medicine, as well as attacks on nutrition warehouses between January and June.

“Refugees from Sudan are fleeing for their lives and yet are being met with more hunger, despair, and limited resources on the other side of the border,” said Shaun Hughes, WFP’s Emergency Coordinator for the Sudan Regional Crisis. “Food assistance is a lifeline for vulnerable refugee families with nowhere else to turn.”

The humanitarian situation has also deteriorated within Sudan’s war zones. On Tuesday, the Darfur Victims Support Organization shared photos of long queues at charity kitchens and urged international agencies to intervene. The group called on armed factions to declare a truce and allow aid corridors to be opened.

Despite a UN appeal for a one-week ceasefire in El Fasher to allow aid distribution, fighting between the army and RSF resumed on Monday. The El Fasher Resistance Committee reported ongoing artillery shelling in residential areas and at the city’s livestock market, with civilian casualties continuing to rise.

Meanwhile, U.S. aid cuts under the Trump administration have further strained relief efforts. The International Rescue Committee noted that 90 communal kitchens in Khartoum have shut down, leaving over half a million people without steady access to food.