Sudan | World Food Programme

Sudan is facing a rapidly deepening crisis as war rages across the country, with nearly 18 million people facing acute hunger. Of these, nearly 5 million people are in emergency levels of hunger. This is the highest number ever recorded during the harvest season.

Over 75 percent of those in emergency are in areas where access is extremely limited due to heavy fighting and restrictions. Without assistance, there is a high risk they could slip into catastrophe.

Key drivers of food insecurity include intensified conflict and growing intercommunal violence, an economic crisis, soaring prices of food, fuel and essential goods, and below-average agricultural production.

Sudan also faces the worst displacement crisis in the world, with around 7.7 million people forced from their homes since conflict erupted in April 2023, according to the International Organization for Migration. WFP has delivered assistance to over 1.2 million people who have fled to neighbouring countries.

WFP has delivered life-saving food to over 5.2 million people inside Sudan since the start of the conflict and could reach many more, with humanitarian access constrained by the conflict. Funding shortfalls are also reducing the number of people we can support.

Conflict hotspots such as Khartoum, Darfurs and Kordofan remain mostly inaccessible. We have only managed to deliver assistance to greater Khartoum, where aid convoys could not get through between August and November.

WFP needs US$144 million from January–June 2024, to ensure that families can continue to access life-saving food assistance.

What the World Food Programme is doing to respond to the Sudan emergency

Emergency response: WFP has delivered life-saving food and nutrition assistance to over 6.5 million people in 17 of Sudan’s 18 states. Conflict hotspots such as Khartoum, the Darfurs, and Kordofans remain mostly inaccessible due to heavy fighting, insecurity, restrictions, threats, roadblocks, and bureaucratic impediments.
Resilience: WFP manages activities designed to improve livelihoods and build resilience, focused on the relatively safe eastern state of Sudan. WFP has also resumed the African Development Bank-funded Sudan Emergency Wheat Production Project in Northern, River Nile, Gezira, Kassala and White Nile states. The programme aims to increase Sudan’s domestic wheat production, which is vital to preventing hunger from rising even more.
UNHAS: The WFP-managed United Nations Humanitarian Air Services has established air connections between Nairobi and Port Sudan and Amman and Port Sudan, which are already transporting frontline humanitarians from 69 organizations. In 2023, UNHAS facilitated nearly 200 international flights into and out of Port Sudan, transporting around 4,000 passengers and 18.2 MT of light humanitarian cargo from May to December 2023.
Logistics: The WFP-led Logistics Cluster provides storage services to 9 UN agencies and NGO partners at four locations in Port Sudan, Wad Madani, Kosti, and Gedaref. Thousands of tons of humanitarian supplies are passing through these hubs.
Emergency Telecommunications Cluster: The Emergency Telecommunications Cluster provides connectivity services in Port Sudan, Kassala and Kosti. In Port Sudan, the Cluster is providing connectivity to around 600 users from 37 partners across 28 sites. In Kassala, the Cluster provides connectivity to 70 users from 8 partners across 4 sites.