A UN-backed global hunger monitor has warned that famine risks are growing in conflict-affected areas of Sudan as drought compounds the effects of the war that began in 2023. A Reuters report published on 23 October 2026 said rainfall during the July–September rainy season was the lowest in more than three decades across Sudan.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) warned on 12 October that El Niño-driven drought was worsening already dire conditions. Crop failures and declining pasture threaten both rural livelihoods and food supplies in a country where conflict has disrupted farming, markets and humanitarian access.
The World Food Programme has forecast that drought could push an additional 350,000 people into severe hunger by the end of 2026, with the number rising further into 2027. The figures underscore how climate shocks can magnify the consequences of armed conflict.
Darfur and Kordofan are among the hardest-hit regions, while aid agencies report that insecurity and access restrictions prevent them from reaching everyone in need. Funding shortages have also forced humanitarian organisations to reduce food assistance in some locations.
The crisis is particularly dangerous because households are facing multiple shocks at once: displacement, high prices, lost income, damaged infrastructure and failing harvests. When food production and humanitarian aid decline simultaneously, communities have fewer ways to cope.
UN agencies and humanitarian partners are calling for greater access for relief operations, additional funding and protection for civilians. They also stress that parties to the conflict must not obstruct humanitarian assistance and that people in need should be able to receive food and medical support safely.
The situation demonstrates the close links between conflict, climate vulnerability and food insecurity. Preventing a wider catastrophe will require emergency assistance alongside efforts to restore agricultural livelihoods, protect humanitarian routes and pursue a political end to the fighting.
References:
Reuters, 23 October 2026 — New famine risk haunts war-torn Sudan with El Niño-driven drought
Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)
World Food Programme — Sudan