Global Hunger Report Finds Sudan’s Nearly 20 Million People Face Acute Food Insecurity

A new global hunger report says acute food insecurity and child malnutrition have increased for the sixth consecutive year, with more than 295 million people in 53 countries and territories facing acute hunger in 2024.

“New data from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) warns that nearly 20 million people in Sudan face high levels of acute food insecurity”

Action Against Hunger

The same report says the number of people facing catastrophic hunger levels reached a record, with 1.9 million people in IPC/CH Phase 5, and it names Sudan among places where child malnutrition has reached extremely high levels.

Action Against Hunger

In Sudan specifically, Action Against Hunger says nearly 20 million people face high levels of acute food insecurity, and it projects that by 2026, 825,000 children under five will suffer from severe acute malnutrition.

The Action Against Hunger briefing ties the risk to more than three years of conflict and adverse weather, and it says 13.5 million displaced people are living through the world’s largest displacement crisis.

The report also frames the coming months as a critical period because the rainy season runs from May to September and coincides with the annual period of food scarcity.

A global hunger monitoring group using the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) says more than 40% of Sudan’s population is facing high levels of acute food insecurity through May, and it reports that of nearly 19.5 million people, 135,000 are in Phase 5.

The IPC assessment warns that conditions are expected to deteriorate further in the June–September lean season, and it says 825,000 children under 5 are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition in 2026.

Al Jazeera

The monitoring group says the war in Sudan broke out in April 2023 after tensions between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces erupted into full-scale armed conflict, and it reports at least 59,000 people killed and some 13 million displaced.

UN News says an alert published by international experts found that in Um Baru in North Darfur, more than half of children aged six months to five years are suffering from acute malnutrition, while in Kernoi about one in three children are affected.

UN News adds that rates surpass the 30% critical threshold used by specialists to signal conditions that could lead to rapid child mortality.

Action Against Hunger warns that unless urgent measures are taken, the coming months could be even harder, and it links the danger to limited humanitarian access during the rainy season.

“World17:48, 14 May 2026 Almost 20 million people in Sudan still face acute hunger, monitors say 1 minute read”

Armenpress

It also says essential medicines from Action Against Hunger have been stranded in logistics warehouses in Dubai due to a lack of flights and high fuel costs resulting from geopolitical tensions.

In parallel, UN News says the UN’s 2026 humanitarian plan was funded only 5.5% as of early February, and it warns this shortfall jeopardizes delivering food, medicines, and nutritional assistance before the rainy season.

UN News frames the alert as a signal rather than a new official famine classification, and it says it is awaiting a full analysis scheduled for March.

Al Jazeera reports that the IPC said “Ongoing hostilities – especially around major supply routes, such as El Obeid in North Kordofan – and the possibility of renewed siege‑like conditions continue to heighten risks,” and it quotes Grace Oongee warning that families have been forced into “very negative coping mechanisms.”