United Nations-backed food monitors say famine is expanding in North Darfur as rates of acute malnutrition climb amid Sudan’s protracted war.
The UN’s Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the assessment system used by the Food and Agriculture Organization, reported that famine thresholds for acute malnutrition have been exceeded in the contested border areas of Um Baru and Kernoi. Malnutrition in Um Baru was measured at nearly twice the famine threshold, the IPC said, a level that signals a heightened risk of excess deaths and raises concerns that neighboring areas may be facing similarly catastrophic conditions.
The deterioration follows more than a year of intense fighting that began in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The conflict has killed tens of thousands, forced almost 11 million people from their homes and produced what aid agencies describe as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Humanitarian access remains heavily restricted across large parts of the country. The IPC noted that the population remaining in el-Fasher town is largely inaccessible, while escalating clashes along the Sudan–Chad border threaten the route used to deliver aid from Chad, risking cuts to assistance for millions in Greater Darfur.
The crisis intensified after the RSF captured el-Fasher, North Darfur’s capital, in October following an 18-month siege. The fall of the city and the mass displacement that followed have pushed acute food insecurity and malnutrition to new highs. After el-Fasher was taken, reports emerged of mass killings, abductions and sexual violence; the UN says at least 127,000 people fled to nearby towns.
The IPC had previously confirmed famine conditions in el-Fasher and in Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan. It now warns that famine could spread to as many as 20 additional areas across Darfur and Kordofan. Kordofan has become a major battleground in the RSF–army fighting: about 88,000 people have been displaced there since October, and Kadugli has faced prolonged siege conditions.
In South Kordofan’s town of Kouik, a reported RSF strike on a hospital killed 22 people and wounded eight, according to medical sources, and aid groups say the attack is part of wider assaults that have left several hospitals inoperable.
The UN estimates that nearly half of Sudan’s population — more than 21 million people — are now facing acute food insecurity. The IPC adds that roughly 4.2 million people are at risk of acute malnutrition this year, underscoring a worsening, life-threatening humanitarian emergency.
Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez