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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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26 August 2025

On 20 August 2025, a drone strike hit a 16-truck UN food convoy in Melit, North Darfur. At least three trucks caught fire, preventing aid delivery to famine-affected areas. This is the second major convoy attack since June, further constraining already limited humanitarian access to Al Fasher. (UN 21/08/2025, AJ 22/08/2025)

26 August 2025

On 23 August 2025, heavy rains and flooding in Abeiyat Jeleidat village in Um Kadadah locality, North Darfur, displaced about 910 people. Field teams report 182 houses and several shops destroyed and another 210 houses damaged. Many displaced individuals are sheltering in open areas, increasing their exposure to health, protection, and livelihood risks. (IOM 25/08/2025)

26 August 2025

From 11–20 August 2025, attacks by the Rapid Support Forces in Al Fasher and Abu Shouk camp, North Darfur, killed at least 89 civilians, including women and children. Reports also indicate ethnically targeted executions and the abduction of 40 displaced men. Civilians remain trapped under siege, facing worsening protection risks. (OHCHR 22/08/2025, AJ 22/08/2025)

13 August 2025

In just one week, over 60 people, mostly women and children, have died from malnutrZition in Al Fasher, North Darfur. The city and Abu Shouk displacement camp, where people already face Famine (IPC phase 5), remain cut off from aid as hostilities intensify, placing 300,000 civilians at heightened risk of IPC 5. All exit routes are blocked, and dwindling supplies of food, water, and medicine are increasing mortality risks from starvation and preventable diseases. The risk for IPC 5 was first detected in Zamzam displacement camp in December 2024 and has spread to other areas, with Al Fasher among the worst affected. The crisis is compounded by continuing violence, including recent attacks in North Darfur that killed at least 40 civilians and injured 19. With cholera outbreaks also spreading, civilians face a deadly convergence of hunger, disease, and insecurity, with little prospect of relief without sustained access. (UN 11/08/2025, WFP X 13/08/2025, IPC 11/07/2025, BBC 12/08/2025)

05 August 2025

One year after famine (IPC phase 5) was confirmed in Zamzam camp in August 2024, an estimated 740,000 people trapped in El Fasher face starvation. By 5 August, roads remained blocked, cutting off food aid. Food prices have surged by over 400%, with some families resorting to fodder and waste. Markets and health services are largely non-functional. (WFP 05/08/2025, AJ 06/08/2025, ACJPS 31/07/2025)

29 July 2025

By July 2025, around 380,000 people had been displaced in Tawila (North Darfur), with outbreaks of cholera, measles, malaria, and trauma cases increasing. Most households are only able to have one meal a day, and only 10% have access to safe drinking water. Aid operations are overstretched and unable to meet growing health and nutrition needs. (ECHO 25/07/2025, OCHA 22/07/2025)

29 July 2025

Until 25 July 2025, the city of Kadugli in South Kordofan was still inaccessible to humanitarian aid as the last supply route was blocked. 96% of displaced families were struggling to meet their basic needs, and 75% had at least one malnourished child. Authorities have suspended 30 national and three international NGOs, further restricting humanitarian access. (ECHO 25/07/2025)

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 23/07/2025


Drivers

International Displacement
Conflict/ Violence
Political/economic crisis

Crisis level

Country

Severity level

4.7 Very High

Access constraints

5.0

Analysis products
on Sudan

Sudan: Cholera outbreak in Tawila locality

08 August 2025

Sudan: Cholera outbreak in Tawila locality

DOCUMENT / PDF / 693 KB

By 4 August 2025, the General Directorate of Health Emergencies and Epidemics Control had recorded 2,957 suspected cholera cases in Tawila locality, North Darfur state, since the federal Ministry of Health (MOH) declared an outbreak in the country in August 2024. 

Health
Sudan: Protection Risk Analysis 2025

31 July 2025

Sudan: Protection Risk Analysis 2025

DOCUMENT / PDF / 441 KB

This report highlights eight key protection risks identified as the most severe in 2025 by responders, with special focus on at-risk population groups, high-risk areas, and information gaps. It also aims to delve into the dynamics of each protection risk in 2025. 

Protection
Sudan: key needs and risks for idp returnees in Aj Jazirah

17 July 2025

Sudan: key needs and risks for idp returnees in Aj Jazirah

DOCUMENT / PDF / 2 MB

This report gives an overview of the humanitarian needs of IDP returnees in Aj Jazirah state and the factors driving and compounding continuing IDP returns.

Displacement
Sudan: Anticipated effects of the 2025 rainy season on malnutrition drivers in Darfur

24 June 2025

Sudan: Anticipated effects of the 2025 rainy season on malnutrition drivers in Darfur

DOCUMENT / PDF / 473 KB

This report aims to examine how the 2025 rainy season is expected to affect malnutrition drivers in Darfur, a region already facing critical levels of malnutrition, food insecurity, displacement, and health system collapse. 

Nutrition
Sudan: risk of continued drone strikes on Port Sudan

23 May 2025

Sudan: risk of continued drone strikes on Port Sudan

DOCUMENT / PDF / 2 MB

On 4 May 2025, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a series of drone strikes on Port Sudan, the administrative and humanitarian hub of the country since the beginning of the armed conflict in April 2023. The aerial attacks with loitering munitions lasted six consecutive days until 9 May.

Conflict and violence
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