Millions of people in Sudan are surviving on just one meal a day as the country's three-year war drives one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, according to a new report by major international aid organizations.
A joint report published Monday by Action Against Hunger, CARE International, International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps, and the Norwegian Refugee Council revealed that families in the conflict's epicenters — North Darfur and South Kordofan states — can access only one meal daily, with many resorting to eating leaves and animal feed to survive.
"Sudan's war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which enters its third year on Wednesday, has caused widespread hunger and displaced millions of people amid one of the world's largest humanitarian crises," the NGO report stated.
The war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which erupted in April 2023, has displaced more than 12 million people and left more than 33 million in need of humanitarian aid. The United Nations reports more than 40,000 deaths, though aid groups believe the actual toll could be significantly higher.
The humanitarian catastrophe carries profound implications for Horn of Africa stability, as Sudan's collapse sends refugee flows across borders and disrupts regional food systems already strained by climate shocks. Ethiopia, which hosts hundreds of thousands of Sudanese refugees, faces mounting pressure on its own food security infrastructure while managing internal displacement from recent conflicts.
The NGO report documents how conflict tactics have systematically destroyed Sudan's agricultural foundation. > "Nearly three years of conflict, marked by violence, displacement and siege tactics, have systematically eroded Sudan's food system – field by field, road by road, market by market – producing mass hunger," the organizations found.
In the worst-affected areas, communal kitchens established to share scarce resources are failing as supplies dwindle. > "Often, they miss meals for entire days," the report noted, highlighting how families cycle between minimal sustenance and complete food deprivation.
Women and girls face disproportionate risks, with female-headed households three times more likely to experience food shortages than male-headed households, according to the report. The organizations detail how women face rape and harassment when attempting to reach fields, markets, or water sources — creating additional barriers to food access in a system already under siege.
Famine conditions have been officially confirmed in multiple locations. In November, global hunger monitors confirmed famine in el-Fasher and Kadugli for the first time. By February, the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification found famine thresholds surpassed in Um Baru, where acute malnutrition rates among children under five were nearly double the famine threshold, and Kernoi.
