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Country analysis

Sudan

Over 30 million people in Sudan – almost two third of the population – are in need of humanitarian and protection assistance. The main driver of the crisis has been the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, which escalated in April 2023 and has since resulted in thousands of fatalities and injuries. By December 2024, more than 11.8 million people were forcibly displaced since the beginning of the conflict, including around 9.3 million IDPs and returnees and around 2.5 million refugees and asylum seekers outside Sudan, mainly in Chad, Egypt, and South Sudan. By November, Sudan was hosting more than 250,000 refugees, mainly from South Sudan and Ethiopia. The conflict has aggravated existing issues of poverty, hunger, and economic instability. Severe weather events, including floods and droughts, have further deteriorated the humanitarian situation. As a result, Sudan faces high levels of acute food security, with some pockets of Famine (IPC Phase 5) emerging since August 2024. Bureaucratic constraints, as well as violence against humanitarian personnel, assets, and facilities, continue to severely restrict humanitarian access, hindering humanitarian operations and aid delivery. (UNHCR 14/11/2024, OCHA 31/12/2024, UNHCR accessed 16/12/2024, IRC 17/04/2023, AWSD accessed 11/12/2024)

Over 30 million people in Sudan – almost two third of the population – are in need of humanitarian and protection assistance. The main driver of the crisis has been the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, which escalated in April 2023 and has since resulted in thousands of fatalities and injuries. By December 2024, more than 11.8 million people were forcibly displaced since the beginning of the conflict, including around 9.3 million IDPs and returnees and around 2.5 million refugees and asylum seekers outside Sudan, mainly in Chad, Egypt, and South Sudan. By November, Sudan was hosting more than 250,000 refugees, mainly from South Sudan and Ethiopia. The conflict has aggravated existing issues of poverty, hunger, and economic instability. Severe weather events, including floods and droughts, have further deteriorated the humanitarian situation. As a result, Sudan faces high levels of acute food security, with some pockets of Famine (IPC Phase 5) emerging since August 2024. Bureaucratic constraints, as well as violence against humanitarian personnel, assets, and facilities, continue to severely restrict humanitarian access, hindering humanitarian operations and aid delivery. (UNHCR 14/11/2024, OCHA 31/12/2024, UNHCR accessed 16/12/2024, IRC 17/04/2023, AWSD accessed 11/12/2024)

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Latest updates on country situation

13 May 2026

More than 4.9 million people nationwide are projected to face Emergency (IPC Phase 4) food insecurity levels between February–May 2026, with reports indicating a potential further expansion of IPC 4 levels across Blue Nile state as well as Darfur and Kordofan regions during the June–September lean season. Conflict, displacement, high food prices, and access constraints are driving worsening hunger, malnutrition, and disease outbreak risks. Needs for food assistance and healthcare are likely to increase. (FEWS NET 11/05/2026, IPC 30/11/2025)

28 April 2026

On 24 April 2025, a drone strike hit an aid truck transporting shelter kits to Tawila, North Darfur, destroying all supplies. The incident leaves about 1,300 displaced families without shelter support in an area hosting over 700,000 IDPs. The attack highlights continued risks to humanitarian operations and constrained aid access. (UNHCR 26/04/2026, TNA 26/04/2025)

25 March 2026

Attacks on health infrastructure and rising insecurity continue to disrupt healthcare access nationwide, with around 200 recorded attacks on health facilities killing at least 2,000 people since April 2023. On 20 March 2026, an attack on Al Daein Teaching Hospital in East Darfur killed at least 64 people, including 13 children, and injured 90 others, among them healthcare workers. The strike damaged the paediatric, maternity, and emergency departments, rendering the facility nonfunctional and cutting off essential medical services in Ad Du'ayn, a key urban centre already facing limited healthcare access. The loss of services is expected to severely constrain access to urgent care, particularly for children and pregnant women, and increase pressure on already overstretched facilities in surrounding areas. Repeated attacks on health infrastructure, combined with heightened insecurity, continue to undermine access to care, disrupt the treatment of injuries and disease, and increase mortality risks across conflict-affected areas. (CARE 23/03/2026, Sudan INGO Forum 24/03/2026, AJ 21/03/2026)

18 March 2026

In western Sudan, rising protection concerns and damage to civilian infrastructure are hindering access to markets and cross-border supply routes. A drone strike that hit a market and ignited fuel reserves near the Chad border killed at least 11 people and injured over 20, including children. (MSF X 12/03/2026, AJ 13/03/2026, TNA 13/03/2026)

18 March 2026

Rising protection needs and disruptions to access to education and healthcare services continue to be reported as hostilities and the targeting of civilian infrastructure persist. A drone strike that hit a secondary school and health facility in Shukeiri village, White Nile state, killed at least 17 people, including students, teachers, and health workers, and injured ten others. (UNICEF 12/03/2026, PI 12/03/2026)

23 February 2026

On 18 February 2026, a drone strike hit a water collection point in Umm Rusum village, As Sunut locality, West Kordofan, killing at least 18 people, including children. The incident highlights continued risks to civilians accessing essential services, while damage to water access points may further constrain safe water availability and increase humanitarian needs. (STC 20/02/2025)

03 February 2026

By 29 January 2026, escalating violence in Darfur had newly displaced over 22,600 people, nearly two-thirds of them children, from Al Fasher and surrounding areas towards remote parts of South Darfur, including Jabal Marra. There has also been a sharp rise in the number of unaccompanied and separated children, overcrowded shelters, limited health access, and measles transmission, signalling worsening protection and health risks. (WVI 29/01/2025)

current crises
in Sudan

These crises have been identified through the INFORM Severity Index, a tool for measuring and comparing the severity of humanitarian crises globally.

Read more about the Index

SDN001 - Complex crisis

Last updated 29/04/2026

Drivers

International Displacement
Conflict/ Violence
Political/economic crisis

Crisis level

Country

Severity level

9.6 Very High

Access constraints

10.0

Analysis products
on Sudan

Sudan: risk analysis (2026)

13 May 2026

Sudan: risk analysis (2026)

DOCUMENT / PDF / 1 MB

This report outlines seven risks of emerging or deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Sudan between June–December 2026. The risk analysis aims to support humanitarian decision makers in anticipating potential escalations in humanitarian needs, displacement, humanitarian access constraints, and service disruptions to inform proactive preparedness and response planning.

Sudan: the six grave violations against children during armed conflict

07 May 2026

Sudan: the six grave violations against children during armed conflict

DOCUMENT / PDF / 412 KB

This report aims to analyse the situation of children affected by armed conflict in Sudan through the UNSC’s framework of the six grave violations against children. It focuses on developments in 2025 and 2026, drawing on 2024 data where more recent information is unavailable.

Protection
Sudan: Analysis of humanitarian access in the Darfur and Kordofan regions

22 March 2026

Sudan: Analysis of humanitarian access in the Darfur and Kordofan regions

DOCUMENT / PDF / 826 KB

This report aims to inform the humanitarian community and decision makers interested in the Sudanese context of recent humanitarian access developments, emerging trends, and anticipatory access risks in the Darfur and Kordofan regions. It is an update to this April 2025 report

Humanitarian access
Sudan: Conflict-induced displacement in North and South Kordofan

11 February 2026

Sudan: Conflict-induced displacement in North and South Kordofan

DOCUMENT / PDF / 300 KB

Since 25 October 2025, conflict between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in the Greater Kordofan region of Sudan has sparked widespread displacement. After RSF’s October 2025 takeover of Al Fasher, North Darfur, from SAF, the Kordofan states have emerged as the new front lines as RSF and allied groups look to expand their areas of control. 

Conflict and violence
Sudan: digital harms in conflict zones

15 December 2025

Sudan: digital harms in conflict zones

DOCUMENT / PDF / 179 KB

This report provides an overview of the types of digital threats and harms reported publicly in Sudan, highlighting the impacts on civilians and humanitarian responders. The report stresses the critical importance of understanding these harms – including weaponised disinformation, connectivity blackouts, and surveillance – because of their very real and profound offline consequences and offers concrete, illustrative examples from the Sudanese context. 

Conflict and violence
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