# Sudan's famine spreads: 25 million food-insecure, 13 million displaced, 20+ areas at famine risk
> The world's largest displacement and hunger crisis deepens as the war outpaces every truce plan; famine confirmed in El Fasher and Kadugli, Tawila overwhelmed

**Meta:** type: story · date: 2026-06-20 · heads: How Life Changes, Whose Money · 12 takes · 3 lenses · 5 regions

## Summary

The [Sudan War](/en/entity/sudan-war) sustains the world's largest hunger and displacement crisis. The UN
counts roughly 25 million people in severe food insecurity and more than 13 million
internally displaced, with over 4 million having fled abroad. The IPC has confirmed
Famine (Phase 5) in El Fasher and Kadugli, with more than 20 areas in or at risk of
famine, including Tawila, Melit and At Tawisha. Nearly 71,000 people fled El Fasher and
its surroundings since late October toward Tawila, ~70 km away, where families sleep in
the open with depleted food stocks and scarce clean water. Aid access is severely
constrained by both the [RSF](/en/entity/rapid-support-forces) and [army](/en/entity/sudanese-armed-forces),
and the crisis is spreading with the war rather than stabilising.

## By the numbers

- ~25M — people in severe food insecurity.
- 13M+ — internally displaced; 4.4M+ fled to neighbouring countries.
- 20+ — areas in or at risk of famine (IPC Phase 5).
- ~71,000 — people who fled El Fasher area toward Tawila since late October.

## Why it matters

Famine here is engineered by access denial, not just crop failure — making it a method of
war. The displacement load destabilises Chad, South Sudan and Egypt. A fall of
[el-Obeid](/en/n/sudan-el-obeid-rsf-offensive) would add a new famine front in Kordofan.

## What to watch

- Whether the 2026 response plan's funding gap narrows or aid pipelines collapse.
- New IPC famine classifications in Kordofan if el-Obeid is besieged.
- Cross-border displacement pressure on Chad and South Sudan.

## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens)

### unlabelled
- **UN OCHA — Sudan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan 2026** (Global, en) — OCHA's 2026 response plan — the scale of need, the displacement and food-insecurity caseload and the funding and access constraints across Darfur, Kordofan and the wider country.
  Source: https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/sudan/sudan-humanitarian-needs-and-response-plan-2026-april-2026
- **IPC — Famine confirmed in El Fasher and Kadugli; 20+ areas at risk** (Global, en) — Integrated Food Security Phase Classification confirming Famine (IPC Phase 5) in El Fasher and Kadugli with more than 20 areas in or at risk of famine — the technical basis for the famine designation.
  Source: https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/countries-in-focus-archive/issue-137/en/
- **CARE** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://www.care.org/media-and-press/ipc-report-on-starvation-in-sudan-famine-persists-amidst-ongoing-atrocities-in-el-fasher/
- **IPC Famine Review Committee (PDF)** (Global, en) — 
  Source: https://www.ipcinfo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ipcinfo/docs/IPC_Famine_Review_Committee_Report_Sudan_Oct_2025.pdf
- **IOM Crisis Response Platform** (Global, en) — 
  Source: https://crisisresponse.iom.int/response/sudan-crisis-response-plan-2026
- **ACAPS** (Switzerland, en) — 
  Source: https://www.acaps.org/en/countries/sudan
- **Just Security** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://www.justsecurity.org/131508/report-new-evidence-starvation-darfur/
- **CFR Global Conflict Tracker** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/power-struggle-sudan
- **Sudan Tribune** (Sudan, en) — 
  Source: https://sudantribune.com/
- **Al Jazeera** (Qatar, en) — 
  Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/where/sudan/

### food-policy research
- **IFPRI** (United States, en) — Analyses the spread of famine and acute food insecurity across Sudan, linking the worsening classification to conflict-driven access collapse and the displacement waves out of Darfur and Kordofan.
  > "Famine and food insecurity are spreading across Sudan as conflict cuts access and drives mass displacement — the crisis is widening, not stabilising."
  Source: https://www.ifpri.org/blog/ipc-famine-and-food-insecurity-spread-in-sudan-as-humanitarian-crisis-worsens/

### UN
- **UN News** (Global, en) — Documents famine tightening its grip with civilians trapped and aid blocked — the access denial that turns food shortage into famine, and the tens of thousands fleeing El Fasher toward Tawila.
  > "Famine is tightening its grip on Sudan, with civilians trapped and humanitarian aid blocked from reaching those most in need."
  Source: https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/11/1166253

## Across the graph
- Related: [[sudan-el-obeid-rsf-offensive]], [[uae-rsf-sudan-arms-senate]]
- Entities: Sudan War, Rapid Support Forces, Sudanese Armed Forces, United Nations

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Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/sudan-famine-displacement-crisis