Famine as warfare: Sudan’s war starves 25 million civilians

Graphic by Sei Nam

On June 27, the United Nations (UN) reported that Sudan is facing a catastrophic hunger crisis, with 25.6 million civilians experiencing acute starvation. 

According to the latest projections by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organizations (FAO), over 755,000 people in Sudan are classified in Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) Phase 5–the highest phase of the IPC Acute Food Insecurity Scale, indicating famine. The situation is the result of an ongoing civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), persisting since 2023. 

At a UN Security Council meeting on Aug. 8, US and UK representatives accused SAF of “restricting humanitarians from accessing supplies through the critical Adre crossing–the most direct route to deliver assistance.” In response, the Sudanese representative blamed the RSF that “they are targeting agricultural production in my country—it has looted the grain warehouses, imposed taxes on farmlands, and confiscated wheat.” Also, the organization blocked entry into war zones, hampering the movement of several humanitarian assistance trucks to conflicted areas. 

With severe restrictions on humanitarian access, skyrocketing food prices, and blockade of resources the situation in Sudan has become increasingly dire, prompting agricultural industries to be targeted by both sides.

Recent reports from the UN and UNESCO highlight the severity of the famine crisis in North Darfur’s Zamzam camp. According to the UN’s report on Aug. 7, 500,000 of the 10.7 million displaced civilians are currently housed in the Zamzam camp. The Famine Review Committee has classified the camp’s starvation situation as ‘famine,’ one of only three such declarations in decades. 

Due to the ZamZam camp’s location at the center of the war zone, little humanitarian aid has been able to reach. A report from the International Rescue Committee in April revealed that “one-fifth of young children who arrive are experiencing acute malnutrition” despite safely relocated refugees and displaced civilians. 

Screenings conducted in early September by the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) against 29,000 children in the Zamzam camp revealed shocking results: nearly 40 percent of the children were at risk of global acute malnutrition (GAM) while over 10 percent are already at a severe level (SAM). This is more than double the emergency threshold of 15 percent set by the WHO. 

In response to this crisis, humanitarian agencies worldwide have successfully aided millions. Major organizations, such as UNICEF and the WFP, provided over five million with safe drinking water, three million with critical health supplies, and another three million with malnutrition screening. 

However, the number of those in need vastly outnumber those aided; merely one-fifth of the starving population has been reached since 2023. 

The biggest challenge of humanitarian agencies is the warring parties' blockades of their efforts. Additionally, aid trucks require permits issued by the authorities to cross into Sudan, which can take weeks to arrive. Even after securing entry, the majority are blocked and often attacked by the warring parties. 

Despite this, agencies remain determined to assist in Sudan’s crisis, which remains largely unrecognized globally. Currently, 25.6 million people are experiencing acute food deficiency, and with limited global awareness, humanitarian agencies are unable to do so much to counter Sudanese militaries’ usage of starvation as a military tactic against their citizens.