Hunger in Sudan: How (and why) hundreds of thousands are facing famine

Over 25 million people (more than half of the country’s population) are facing high levels of food insecurity according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). On August 1, 2024, the IPC’s Famine Review Committee confirmed that a man-made famine has taken hold within Zamzam camp. One of North Darfur’s largest displacement sites, Zamzam is home to over half a million people fleeing violence who are now unable to leave, farm, or afford the food staples and other commodities that are available to them in the area.

Read on for what that means, how we got here, and everything else you need to know about the current hunger crisis in Sudan. 

Per the IPC (one of the main reporting organisations on world hunger and food insecurity), Sudan “is facing the worst levels of acute food insecurity ever recorded by the IPC in the country.” As of this update in August 2024, we are in the middle of the lean season between harvests, and the IPC estimates that the famine in Darfur will continue through October 2024, and adds that the likelihood of the famine continuing into the new year is “high.” 

Prior to this latest assessment, the IPC’s last projections showed that 25.6 million people in Sudan were facing high levels of acute food insecurity, including over 755,000 people across 14 of the country’s 18 states fasting Catastrophe-level hunger, which in IPC terminology is famine or famine-like conditions. These areas of extreme hunger are located in all five states of Greater Darfur, as well as South and North Kordofan, Blue Nile, Al Jazirah, and Khartoum. An additional 8.5 million people are facing Emergency-level food shortages (a classification between Crisis and Catastrophe on the IPC scale). 

“People are having to eat leaves and mud for energy just to try to survive,” says Concern Sudan country director, Dr. Farooq Khan of the current situation. “The suffering is so egregious they don’t even have the energy to shout aloud or ask for help anymore.”

Hunger was an issue in Sudan even before conflict broke out in April 2023. At the end of 2019, approximately 5.9 million Sudanese were facing chronic hunger. An estimated 80% of all stunted children lived in just 14 countries. This included Sudan, where extreme poverty, inadequate feeding practices, and the effects of climate change were key drivers for high malnutrition rates, leaving just over 14% of all Sudanese children under the age of five acutely malnourished. 

The knock-on effects of the early years of the pandemic didn’t help matters. Border closures affected the supply chains for staples like wheat and vegetable oil, a problem for a country that relies on imports for roughly 25% of its essential food supplies. Emergency supplies were quickly depleted, and many of the most vulnerable Sudanese lost or saw drastic reductions to their incomes and livelihoods as a result of closures and inflation. The situation worsened in 2022, following the invasion of Ukraine (Sudan relied on both Russia and Ukraine for some of its essentials, including wheat). 

At the end of 2022, one year into a shift in political leadership and amid ongoing instability and uncertainty, the IPC estimated that as many as 11.7 million people were facing food insecurity. This represented a nearly 100% increase in hunger levels pre-pandemic, and a 225% increase compared to 2016, which had the lowest levels of recorded food insecurity in Sudan over the last decade.

The crisis in Sudan escalated on April 15, 2023, with violent clashes between rival factions in the capital of Khartoum sparking a nationwide conflict and massive displacement, both within Sudan and in neighbouring Chad.

For those who have remained in Sudan, food shortages have become a fact of life. The Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that food production fell by 46% in the first year of the conflict as people were driven from their homes or unable to safely work their farms (agriculture accounts for 80% of employment in Sudan). Food processing factories ceased operations due to the war, and the only factory in the country that produced lifesaving ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), the standard treatment for childhood malnutrition, was destroyed. 

Fighting has been especially intense in Darfur and Al Jazirah, the region known as Sudan’s bread basket. Adding insult to injury, forecasts for 2024 suggest that the rainfall will be below-average this year in the country, further impacting crops, livestock, and the availability of water. Humanitarian access has also been limited by violence. 

The World Food Programme warns that Sudan is unable to afford to import enough food to cover the shortage due to hyperinflation, and we are now seeing that play out in the country’s lean season, which began in May and is expected to continue through September. What food is available in the country is likewise too expensive for many of the most vulnerable Sudanese families (particularly those displaced by conflict). In its analysis of Zamzam camp, the IPC noted that the camp’s main market was functioning intermittently, with irregular deliveries made at high risk to those carrying them through unsafe areas. This has contributed to the price spikes of available goods.

“People are selling off their assets to buy food for their families. Supplies to commercial markets have been disrupted by the fighting. Many people are now totally reliant on aid in order to have just one meal a day,” explains Concern Sudan country director, Dr Farooq Khan.

Food security is a key focus in mitigating the effects of the conflict in Sudan. However, this is just one piece of the puzzle. Healthcare facilities have also faced attacks in the last 15 months. As malnutrition rates continue to rise, this means that many Sudanese (especially children) will face an additional challenge: receiving adequate medical care. 

“We continue to face challenges in the movement of goods and staff into and across the country,” says Amina Abdulla, Concern’s regional director for Horn of Africa. “It is only a matter of time before we run out of supplies in the various health facilities that we support and services come to a halt despite the ever-increasing levels of needs across the country.”

“The 90 clinics we are supporting are under stress,” adds Dr Khan. 

In a world overrun by conflict and crisis, humanitarian agencies are wary of making hyperbolic statements. However, in a March 20 2024 speech to the Security Council, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Edem Wosornu warned of “a far-reaching and fast-deteriorating situation of food insecurity in Sudan.” At the one-year mark for the conflict, 18 million people were facing high levels (Crisis, Emergency, or Catastrophe-level) of food insecurity. 

Just three months later, those projected insecurity rates have risen by more than 40%. Dr Khan says that even this may be a conservative estimate: “From the feedback we are receiving, the IPC could be under-reporting the situation by 5-10%.” 

Because some areas are completely inaccessible to NGOs, Dr Khan adds that some areas may already be experiencing famine-like conditions (a famine must be declared by the IPC — usually in conjunction with a national government). Regardless of the label we give it, however, the net effect is the same: Over three-quarters of a million people, if not more, will face extreme food shortages, which will result in heightened fatalities (especially for children).

At the moment, the two biggest challenges to the hunger crisis in Sudan are political and financial. However, that doesn’t mean the situation is hopeless. 

“Despite insecurity, complex and costly logistics, and bureaucratic impediments hindering the international response, communities and humanitarian organisations are responding — and much more can be done if the resources are provided,” says Dr. Khan. 

The IPC estimates that conditions will continue in Zamzam and the surrounding area (El Fasher), with trade flows and humanitarian access severely interrupted through at least January 2025. While the rainy season begins in October and may make foraging for wild foods a bit easier, this will leave people vulnerable to attacks and ongoing violence. The start of the rainy season will also accelerate waterborne and vector illnesses, exacerbated by overcrowding in the area, a lack of health services, and poor water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure. 

“Accessibility to impacted communities and an uninterrupted supply of essential health and nutrition commodities are our key issues at this stage, if widespread famine is to be prevented and lives saved,” says Dr. Khan.

However, access and political action can only go so far. The UN’s 2024 humanitarian response plan for Sudan was only 5% funded. Of the $2.7 billion USD needed to meet the most baseline, dire needs in 2024, funding was just $135 million. A conference in Paris this past April saw donors commit to an additional $2 billion in funding, however these funds have yet to be fully disbursed. 

“One thing we know about famine is that it will spread if it doesn’t receive the necessary response needed from across the international community,” says Dr. Khan. “Otherwise, it is going to spread like wildfire.”

Concern has been in Sudan for nearly 40 years (including in West Darfur and South Kordofan), in that time reaching hundreds of thousands of people — all of whom are more than both the past and present conflicts affecting them. 

While Concern’s team in Sudan have also faced challenges of safety and logistics, many of our team members have stayed on, responding to the needs of their compatriots. We have been able to respond to an ever-changing situation and ensure that help is going where it’s needed most. In the first nine months of the conflict (April - December 2023), we reached over 346,000 people with lifesaving support. 

Since the conflict erupted in April 2023, almost 11,000 children under the age of five have been treated for acute or severe malnutrition at one of the 90 clinics Concern is supporting in Sudan. In addition to supporting clinics, Concern is also procuring and distributing food, including cereals, pulses, sorghum, dried vegetables, and cooking oil. We also provide emergency cash payments to those who have no source of income, and are working with families to build their resilience and generate income even in the most dire circumstances.

We are also responding to the influx of Sudanese refugees in neighbouring Chad (where we’ve worked for 17 years) and South Sudan (where we’ve worked for 13 years).