The UN and the crisis in Sudan

8.9 million
people internally displaced (UNHCR, May 2026)
150,000+
reportedly killed
33.7 million
people in need of assistance (OCHA, May 2026)

What is the crisis about?

On 15 April 15, 2023, the fighting erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The armed conflict is affecting millions of lives in Sudan and causing mass displacement, food insecurity and education challenges that require immediate humanitarian help.

Right now, Sudan is experiencing a humanitarian catastrophe with over 25 million people in desperate need of assistance.

More information on the background to the conflict.

Recent Statements and News

22 September

Sudan fallout: how shrinking aid is deepening one of the world’s biggest hunger crises (WFP)

WFP's Acting Executive Director Carl Skau speaks to conflict-displaced women during his recent trip to Sudan. Photo: WFP
WFP’s Acting Executive Director Carl Skau speaks to conflict-displaced women during his recent trip to Sudan. Photo: WFP

14 September

  • WFP Acting Executive Director’s Press Conference Following his Mission to Sudan — Remarks as Delivered (WFP)
  • Sudan Aid Could Collapse Within Weeks Amidst Conflict, Rising Needs: IOM Chief Warns (IOM)

24 August

  • Sudan: USG DiCarlo calls for urgent international action as parties remain locked in “zero-sum military logic” (DPPA)
  • Mr. Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator – Briefing to the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Sudan (OCHA)
  • UN / SUDAN POLITICAL HUMANITARIAN (UNifeed)
  • Sudan war: $22 million education boost to help 200,000 children (UN News)

19 August

  • Sudan: 200,000 Newly Displaced as Fighting and Floods Intensify, Closure of Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz Threatens Critical Aid (IOM)

17 August

14 August

  • Sudan: The harrowing reality of giving birth in a war zone (UN News)
  • GENEVA / SUDAN MATERNAL HEALTH CRISIS (UNifeed)

9 August

  • Sudan: ‘It made me dream again’: The students refusing to let war stop their education (UN News)

7 August

  • ‘Sudan is losing another generation’ to war, Mohammed warns (UN News)

4 August

  • Sudan’s farms could feed millions not reached by aid (UNDP)
  • Almost 90% of Sudanese farmers see yields fall, but agriculture still key to boosting food security (UNDP)

3 August

  • “She has given us a sense of security”: The humanitarian midwives deployed to Sudan’s Blue Nile State (UNDP)

31 July

  • Sudan: Women rebuild homes, livelihoods and hope in Jebel Awlia (OCHA)

28 July

  • At least 23 children reportedly killed and 25 injured in Sudan’s conflict-afflicted North Kordofan in past two months (UNICEF)

17 July

  • WFP Geneva Palais Briefing Note: WFP warns El Obeid is becoming the new epicentre of Sudan’s displacement and hunger crisis (WFP)
  • Sudan El Obeid alert – WFP (UNOG)

16 July

  • Helping South Sudan’s child soldiers to rebuild their lives (UN News)

15 July

  • The hidden cost of gum arabic: Inside Sudan’s war economy (OHCHR)

14 July

  • ICC Office of the Prosecutor requests to withdraw charges against Abdallah Banda in Darfur Situation (ICC)
  • UN / SUDAN UPDATE (UNifeed)

8 July

  • Sudan: Mass killings, abductions, and gang rape carried out in El Fasher constitute distinct markers of genocide, UN Fact-Finding Mission says as it launches urgent inquiry into El Obeid (OHCHR)
  • UN / SUDAN GENOCIDE MARKERS (UNifeed)
  • Sudan: ‘El Obeid must not become the next crime scene’ warn UN investigators (UN News)

6 July

  • At least 330 children killed or injured in Sudan during first six months of 2026 as conflict takes escalating toll (UNICEF)

3 July

  • High Commissioner Türk calls for strong action at the highest level to prevent atrocity crimes in Sudan (OHCHR)
  • Sudan’s people subject to ‘relentless’ drone strikes in El Obeid (UN News)

2 July

  • Flash Update on the situation in El Obeid, North Kordofan, Sudan (UNFPA)

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