weight-to-height | Enem Insights

**Famine Spreads to Two Regions in War-Torn Sudan Amid Rising Humanitarian Crisis**

*By SAMY MAGDY*

Famine has spread to two regions of war-torn Sudan, including a major city in Darfur where paramilitary fighters have been rampaging, a global hunger monitoring group reported Monday. The ongoing war has created the world’s largest humanitarian disaster.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the leading international authority on hunger crises, confirmed that famine has been detected in el-Fasher in Darfur and Kadugli town in South Kordofan province. Additionally, twenty other areas in Darfur and Kordofan, where fighting has intensified in recent months, are also at risk of famine.

El-Fasher had been under siege by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for 18 months, cutting off much-needed food and supplies to tens of thousands of people. Last week, RSF fighters seized control of el-Fasher, reportedly unleashing attacks that killed hundreds. However, the true extent of the violence remains unclear due to poor communications.

Kadugli town has also been under siege by the RSF for months, trapping tens of thousands of people. The paramilitary group is attempting to seize more territory from its rival, the Sudanese military.

### “Extremely High Levels of Malnutrition”

The war, which erupted in April 2023, has devastated Sudan. According to United Nations figures, more than 40,000 people have been killed, although aid groups believe the actual toll could be much higher. The conflict has displaced over 14 million people and fueled outbreaks of disease.

The latest IPC report describes conditions in el-Fasher and Kadugli as having witnessed “a total collapse of livelihoods, starvation, extremely high levels of malnutrition, and death.”

Famine is officially declared in areas where deaths from malnutrition-related causes reach at least two people, or four children under five, per 10,000; where at least 20% of people or households severely lack food and face starvation; and where at least 30% of children under five suffer from acute malnutrition by weight-to-height measurement or 15% by upper-arm circumference.

The IPC has confirmed famine only a few times before — most recently in northern Gaza earlier this year amid Israel’s campaign against Hamas. It also declared famine in Somalia in 2011 and South Sudan in 2017 and 2020. Previously, the IPC declared famine in five locations in Sudan.

### Refugee Camps Emptied as Violence Escalates

Near el-Fasher, sprawling refugee camps emptied as RSF troops advanced. Most displaced people fled into el-Fasher itself or nearby towns. The other famine-affected locations were in parts of South and West Kordofan provinces, which have since fallen under RSF control as well.

The new IPC report estimates that about 375,000 people had been pushed into famine conditions in Darfur and Kordofan as of September. Meanwhile, another 6.3 million people across Sudan face extreme levels of hunger.

### Thousands Flee El-Fasher

The IPC warned that towns near el-Fasher — including Tawila, Melit, and Tawisha — are at risk of famine. Thousands fleeing el-Fasher have been arriving at these locations in recent days. However, aid groups remain deeply concerned for tens of thousands more who remain trapped inside the city or have disappeared while trying to escape.

Doctors Without Borders reported that its aid workers in Tawila treated mostly women, children, and elderly people suffering from “catastrophic levels of malnutrition.” On October 27 alone, all 70 children under five who arrived were acutely malnourished, with 57% classified as severe cases. The following day, screenings of 120 adult men revealed that one in five were malnourished.

Sudanese arriving in Tawila described running out of food during the prolonged RSF siege of el-Fasher, resorting to eating animal fodder in desperation.

### Paramilitary Forces Focus on Darfur

Since Sudan’s military retook the capital, Khartoum, earlier this year, the RSF has shifted its focus to the Darfur region in the west and to Kordofan, aiming to secure supply lines toward the country’s center.

In September, Save the Children warned that food supplies had been exhausted in Kadugli amid escalating fighting. Another Kordofan town, Dilling, reportedly faces similar conditions, though the IPC has not confirmed famine there due to lack of data.

### Acute Food Insecurity Widespread

Across Sudan, the IPC reports that more than 21 million people — roughly 45% of the population — faced acute food insecurity as of September. This represents a 6% decrease from the previous report, which covered December 2023 through May 2024. The reduction is attributed to diminished conflict and improved humanitarian access in Khartoum, neighboring Gezira province, and eastern Sennar province after the military regained control of these areas. This has allowed over a million displaced people to return home.

The IPC called for an immediate ceasefire, emphasizing it as the sole measure that “can prevent further loss of life and help contain the extreme levels of acute food insecurity and acute malnutrition” across Sudan.

—

*Featured image via Associated Press/Norwegian Refugee Council*