Press release
Three years of war in Sudan. What it takes to eat.
After three years of war, half of the population need humanitarian aid and two famines are currently declared. Our report shows that Sudan’s hunger crisis is no longer only about food shortages, it is about the systematic breakdown of the entire food system.
This joint report by Action Against Hunger (ACF), CARE International, International Rescue Committee (IRC), Mercy Corps and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) traces the journey of food from farms to markets to household tables, revealing how conflict, violence and economic collapse have turned each step into a dangerous and often deadly process.
Drawing on extensive research, including 80 key informant interviews and 40 focus group discussions with farmers, traders, displaced communities and humanitarian actors, the report shows how farmers are forced to cultivate under fire, traders navigate looting and extortion, and families struggle to access even the most basic staple foods.
In some of the hardest-hit areas, including North Darfur and South Kordofan, families are surviving on one meal a day or less, with many resorting to eating leaves or animal feed to stay alive.
Yet even as the system fractures, Sudanese communities continue to hold it together. Farmers, traders, women’s groups and local networks are risking their lives to produce, move and share food, sustaining a fragile lifeline for millions.
But this resilience is reaching its limits. With more than half the population, 28.9 million people, now acutely food insecure, and famine already confirmed in parts of the country, the report calls for urgent action to protect food systems, ensure safe access, and support locally led responses. Without sustained and coordinated intervention, the collapse of Sudan’s food system will continue to drive hunger deeper, with devastating consequences for millions.
Action Against Hunger in Sudan
Since the conflict began on 15 April 2023, we have supported nearly two million people in Darfur, Kordofan, Blue Nile, White Nile and Red Sea. We continue to run our programmes on health, treatment of malnutrition, cash assistance, access to safe drinking water, sanitation services and awareness-raising on sexual and gender-based violence.