World

Sudan’s Displaced Face Growing Food Crisis Amid Famine Warnings

By Today News Hours Editorial Desk

Sudan’s displaced population is confronting a worsening food crisis, with officials warning of potential famine. Aisha Adam, 50, fled her Khartoum home in the al‑Kalakla neighbourhood after gunfire erupted on 15 April 2023, when the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began fighting. She first went to Omdurman, but the conflict followed her, forcing her to relocate again in May 2023. She ended up in a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast, where she lives with her orphaned grandson and nephew. “I left with my grandson for the bus station, intending to travel to Wad Madani in Gezira state, south of Khartoum. But I found a bus heading to Port Sudan and boarded it, even though all I knew about the city was that it was safe,” she told Al Jazeera.

The war has killed an estimated 200,000 people, displaced 13 million, and triggered famine in parts of the country. After arriving in Port Sudan, Adam initially stayed in a city centre shelter. In June she and others were moved to a displacement centre on the outskirts, where accommodation was assigned by household size. She was given a tent to share with the two children under her care, and the tent shared a boundary with two other families. “At the first shelter, I received some assistance from organisations, other agencies and even ordinary people. But things are different here. The aid we receive has decreased significantly, so I had to try to find work to avoid starving to death,” she said.

Adam’s struggle to feed the children reflects Sudan’s deepening food shortages. A joint statement released on 27 October by the U.S. Department of State warned of a deteriorating food situation and the risk of famine in the coming months. “Sudan is experiencing an alarming deterioration in its food security. The risk of famine in the coming months, as warned by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, needs urgent action,” the statement said.

Humanitarian assistance over the past six months has been limited. Adam recalls receiving aid only three times: 550,000 Sudanese pounds ($59.13) in cash, 12 kg of flour, and personal hygiene supplies for women. “I have no choice but to work. There is no one I can rely on. My two sons are missing, and I do not know where they are, while my other son died before the war began,” she said.

She leaves her accommodation early each morning to sell zalabia, a traditional fried pastry, at a nearby market. She spends 21,000 pounds ($2.25) on 3 kg of flour, 22,000 pounds ($2.36) on 2 litres of oil, and 9,000 pounds ($0.97) on three bags of charcoal. The money left after buying supplies is often insufficient to feed herself and the children. A kilogram of lentils, one of the cheapest items available, costs 16,000 pounds ($1.72). Meat is no longer on her shopping list; her diet now consists mainly of lentils and rice. “Fortunately, aid organisations have been providing water for the past five days. Before that, I used to buy 18 litres for 1,500 pounds ($0.16). Sometimes I did not have the money and had to borrow it,” she said.

Her priority is keeping her small business running to put food on the table while coping with the uncertainty over her missing sons. “The important thing is that we eat, even if it is only lentils and water, with nothing else. But my greatest fear is that we will fall ill, because we have no money for treatment,” she said.

The situation mirrors the wider crisis. On 22 October 2026, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced that funding shortages had forced it to cut monthly food assistance to displaced people, affecting about 900,000 people. Some 19.5 million people across Sudan face acute hunger, including five million experiencing emergency levels of food shortages. The risk of famine persists in several hotspots, particularly Greater Darfur and Greater Kordofan.

Esraa Mohammed, supervisor of the al‑Suraiha 8 IDP camp in al‑Obeid, said displaced families are facing severe shortages of humanitarian assistance and lack even the most basic necessities. “We have 450 registered displaced people in the camp, in addition to 40 newly arrived people who have not yet been added to the official records,” she told Al Jazeera. “Most arrive wearing torn clothes after their journeys, with nothing to protect them from the sun or rain, and without even a single meal.”

Some organisations provide food assistance, including about 400 ml of cooking oil per person and 250 g of peas per person. Another organisation distributes lentils, flour, oil and salt. But these supplies are insufficient to sustain families for a month, forcing displaced Sudanese to look for casual work. “There are 100 children in the camp, 30 of whom are suffering from severe acute malnutrition. They also urgently need clothes to protect them from harsh weather conditions and cover their small bodies,” Mohammed said.

Displaced people arriving from South Kordofan reported being forced to eat tree leaves while fleeing their homes because they feared being killed by the RSF, following reports of civilians being murdered, detained or raped by fighters from the group.

Ahmed Ismail, an expert on the United Nations and NGOs, described the humanitarian situation in Sudan as extremely serious, with basic needs far exceeding the support being provided. “Sudan is facing a complex crisis involving famine, displacement, the collapse of health services, the destruction of livelihoods and serious violations against civilians,” he told Al Jazeera. Humanitarian monitoring has indicated an increase in civilian deaths linked to difficulties accessing food, healthcare and shelter, as well as casualties from attacks and violations, including drone strikes. “When assistance declines, the most vulnerable families are deprived of food and medicine, increasing the risk of death among children, women and older people, particularly in conflict and displacement areas,” Ismail said. Continued reductions in aid, alongside escalating violations and restrictions on humanitarian access, could turn the crisis into an even wider catastrophe, he warned. “Denying the severity of conditions in some areas did not change the reality of the suffering experienced by civilians,” he added.