The rainy season, which runs from June to October and is now reaching its peak, is having a devastating impact on Sudan. Heavy rainfall has already begun to cause widespread flooding, destroying essential infrastructure, fuelling outbreaks of infectious diseases, blocking key routes, and severely limiting humanitarian access to the most vulnerable communities.
This is happening in a country already facing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis in terms of scale. After more than two years of armed conflict, 30 million Sudanese are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance and 25 million are suffering from acute food insecurity. In 2024, the UN warned of famine in Zamzam (Darfur), for the first time in more than seven years.
Flooding caused by the rains not only destroys homes and roads but also contaminates water sources, forcing thousands of people to consume unsafe water and exacerbating the risk of infectious diseases. So far this year, nearly 40,000 cases and more than 900 deaths from cholera have been reported, and outbreaks are expected to worsen as the rains continue. There has also been an increase in cases of acute diarrhea and typhoid fever, particularly in overcrowded camps for displaced persons, where access to safe drinking water and hygiene is virtually non-existent.
In regions such as Darfur, South Kordofan, and Blue Nile, where 80% of hospitals are closed and more than 60% of water treatment plants are out of service, the health system is pushed beyond breaking point. In overcrowded camps like Zamzam, unsanitary conditions, overcrowding, and lack of adequate medical care are especially devastating for women and children.
According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), famine conditions declared in North Darfur and the Western Nuba Mountains could spread to five other locations, with 17 additional areas at risk. In places where aid is most difficult to reach due to blockades or sieges, people are surviving by eating animal fodder, roots, or wild herbs that do not meet their basic nutritional needs. More than 3 million children under five could suffer from acute malnutrition this year, 770,000 of them in its most severe form.
“Declaring famine is an extreme measure, reserved only for the most serious situations,” explains Paloma Martín de Miguel, director of operations in Africa at Action Against Hunger. “It is not done lightly: it means that hunger has reached such critical levels that the lives of a large part of the population are in imminent danger. It is a maximum alert that must be taken with all the seriousness it deserves, as it reflects that Sudan is facing the worst humanitarian crisis of our time.”
Action Against Hunger, present in Sudan since 2018, continues to operate in areas where humanitarian aid is insufficient and access is severely hampered by violence, mass displacement, heavy rains, and funding cuts. Our teams are working with the international community to ensure aid can reach those most in need without obstruction.
Despite access constraints and insecurity, our teams continue to distribute food and agricultural kits in critical areas, set up mobile clinics to bring medical care to those without it, and protect women most vulnerable to gender-based violence.
Between April 2023 and December 2024, we assisted more than 1.2 million people in Central Darfur, South Kordofan, White Nile, Blue Nile, and Red Sea State through nutrition and health, water, sanitation and hygiene, and gender programs.
Action Against Hunger leads the global movement to end hunger. We innovate solutions, advocate for change, and reach 21 million people every year with proven hunger prevention and treatment programs. As a nonprofit that works across 56 countries, our 8,900 dedicated staff members partner with communities to address the root causes of hunger, including climate change, conflict, inequity, and emergencies. We strive to create a world free from hunger, for everyone, for good.
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