Famine Conditions Spread in Sudan's Darfur as Conflict and Funding Cuts Deepen Crisis
GENEVA/CAIRO, Feb 5 (Reuters) – Famine-level acute malnutrition has been identified in two more areas of Sudan’s war-ravaged North Darfur region, a global hunger monitoring group said Thursday, signaling a rapid deterioration in a crisis that has displaced millions and fueled ethnically targeted violence.
The latest analysis from the U.N.-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) found that the famine threshold for acute malnutrition has been exceeded in the localities of Um Baru and Kernoi. In Um Baru, the rate of acutely malnourished children under five was nearly double the famine benchmark.
While not a formal famine declaration, the IPC alert underscores a catastrophic escalation of hunger. The findings come amid a nearly three-year civil war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has shattered the country’s food systems and healthcare infrastructure.
“The situation in Darfur is moving from a severe crisis to a full-blown catastrophe,” said a senior IPC official who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the data. “When children’s malnutrition rates hit these levels, we are witnessing a failure of the international response.”
The newly affected areas, located near the Chad border, absorbed thousands of people who fled the besieged city of al-Fashir late last year after it fell to the RSF. Al-Fashir itself was confirmed to be in famine conditions in November. Subsequent clashes in Kernoi and Um Baru as the RSF sought to consolidate control have further trapped civilians and cut off aid routes.
Nationwide, cases of acute malnutrition are soaring. The IPC estimates nearly 4.2 million current cases, a sharp rise from 3.7 million in 2025.
Systemic Collapse and Aid Shortfalls
The report highlights a collapse in basic services. In Kernoi, only one in four children with severe acute malnutrition is enrolled in a treatment program. Across Greater Kordofan, conflict has crippled food production and supply chains.
Compounding the disaster are severe funding cuts. Major aid groups like CARE International warn that their capacity to respond is being strangled. “Starvation has become entrenched in some of the places where we're working,” said Elizabeth Courtney, CARE’s Humanitarian Advocacy Advisor. She emphasized that urgent funding is needed before the upcoming rainy and lean seasons, when existing food stocks will be depleted.
The crisis in Sudan, now one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, risks being overshadowed by other global conflicts. Donor fatigue and access barriers imposed by warring parties are creating a perfect storm of suffering, with children bearing the brunt.
Voices on the Crisis
Dr. Anwar Hassan, Public Health Researcher, Khartoum (via satellite phone): “This is a man-made famine. The data from Darfur is a clinical indictment of the warring parties who block aid and target civilians. The international community’s slow response is complicity.”
Sarah Jenkins, Former Aid Worker, East Africa: “I’ve seen this playbook before in Somalia and Yemen. Early warnings are ignored until images of emaciated children force a reaction. By then, it’s too late for thousands.”
Michael T. Robertson, Policy Analyst at a Washington D.C. Think Tank: “The spread of famine conditions is a direct result of the RSF and Sudanese army prioritizing territorial gains over civilian survival. There must be immediate, enforced humanitarian corridors.”
“DisgustedObserver,” Online Commentator: “Where is the global outrage? Millions are starving in plain sight while the world watches another tweet-length tragedy unfold. This isn’t just a failure of policy; it’s a failure of basic humanity.”
(Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin and Nafisa Eltahir; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)