NGOs report millions in Sudan surviving on one meal a dayone meal a day amid deepening food crisis
A coalition of NGOs including Action Against Hunger and CARE International released a report on April 13 stating that millions of people in Sudan, especially in North Darfur and South Kordofan, are surviving on just one meal a day due to the ongoing war between the Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces. The conflict, entering its third year, has displaced millions and driven 28.9 million people—61.7 percent of the population—into acute food insecurity through farm destruction, market disruptions, and funding shortfalls for aid. People often skip meals entirely and resort to eating leaves or animal feed, while women and girls face heightened risks of violence when seeking food.
Sudan hosts the world's largest hunger and displacement crises, with famine confirmed in areas like Al Fasher and Kadugli, and the World Food Programme supporting 4 million people monthly despite needing $700 million more. The army-aligned government denies famine, as does the RSF in its areas, complicating aid efforts amid restricted access and donor cuts. This escalation threatens broader regional spread without urgent intervention.
NGOs and Humanitarian Agencies
The war drives communities toward famine by disrupting farming, destroying markets, and using starvation as a tactic. Communal kitchens cannot keep up with needs, and funding cuts limit responses, with women-headed households three times more food-insecure. They urge immediate aid increases to prevent wider catastrophe.
Sudanese Government (Army-aligned)
Officials deny the existence of famine anywhere in the country. They maintain that conditions do not meet famine thresholds despite the conflict's challenges.
Rapid Support Forces
The group denies responsibility for hunger conditions in territories under its control. They reject claims of deliberate starvation tactics in their areas.
- Darfur's genocide in the early 2000s killed about 300,000 and displaced millions.
- Sudan's oil production, mostly from South Kordofan, accounts for 75% of government revenue.
- Omar al-Bashir ruled Sudan autocratically for 30 years until 2019 protests ousted him.
Sudan Civil War
Sudan's civil war has entered its fourth year, increasingly resembling a war of attrition defined by a de facto territorial division between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with the SAF recently reclaiming the presidential palace in central Khartoum as a major tactical victory[1][3].
1 January
Open fighting breaks out between the SAF and RSF and spreads across Sudan.1 January
Talks over integrating the RSF into the army fail to resolve the power struggle.1 January
A military takeover ends the civilian transition and deepens rivalry between Burhan and Hemedti.
