25 Million Starving: Sudan’s Food Crisis Reaches a Breaking Point—Will the World Act?

Image Credit, NRC

The situation in Sudan has reached an unfathomable level of crisis, with starvation sweeping through the nation at a scale never seen before. This is not an abstract problem or a distant tragedy—this is a humanitarian catastrophe unfolding before our eyes, and the response from the global community has been nothing short of a failure. We cannot emphasize this enough: every day, people are dying from hunger, and the world’s inaction is compounding their suffering.

The numbers paint a dire picture—over 25 million people, more than half of Sudan’s population, are now facing acute food insecurity. The crisis has been months in the making, with families forced to survive on a single meal a day, often resorting to eating leaves or insects just to stay alive. The resilience of the Sudanese people has been extraordinary, but it is now being stretched to its breaking point. They have nowhere left to turn, no resources left to draw upon.

Despite this, international aid has been grossly inadequate. The Humanitarian Response Plan, the lifeline for millions, is only 41 percent funded. This funding has trickled in too late, arriving after the damage has been done and lives have been lost. There is an urgent need for pressure to be applied globally to ensure that aid reaches those who are on the brink of starvation. Without this, the human toll will continue to rise.

The situation on the ground is beyond grim. The conflict in Sudan has decimated the food production system, obliterating agriculture and livestock. Our teams report that food is being used as a weapon of war, with both sides of the conflict deliberately withholding supplies from those in need. In June alone, nearly 1.8 million people were denied access to critical humanitarian aid due to logistical barriers, arbitrary refusals, and bureaucratic delays. Even in areas where aid does manage to trickle through, it is so scarce that it barely makes a difference. Families of ten are receiving rations that wouldn’t last three days.

The level of suffering in Sudan defies description. This is a country on the verge of famine, with the potential for loss of life that could surpass even the devastation caused by the ongoing conflict. The people of Sudan have endured more than anyone should ever have to, and their endurance will mean nothing if the world continues to turn a blind eye. The time for indifference has passed. The time for action is now.