UK and partners warn Sudan faces famine risk and call for urgent aid access

Situation Overview

On 23 October 2026, the UK and partners issued a joint ministerial statement warning of an alarming deterioration in Sudan’s food security and a risk of famine in the coming months. The statement said Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) assessments require urgent action to prevent famine and save lives. The statement estimated that 19.5 million people, or 41% of Sudan’s population, are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity, including 5 million facing emergency levels. It said that without immediate action, the number of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition could exceed 825,000, and that the number of food-insecure areas assessed at 14 is expected to double. The statement attributed the hunger crisis primarily to conflict, including displacement, damage to critical infrastructure, and disruptions to healthcare, food production, supply chains and markets, and said it is exacerbated by systematic obstruction of aid and El Niño-related reduced rainfall and increased drought across more than half of Sudan. The statement said the parties to the conflict bear primary responsibility for alleviating the suffering of the Sudanese people and urged urgent measures to reverse the current trajectory, including enabling aid access. It did not list specific scheduled actions or deadlines beyond the call for urgent action.

Geopolitical Implications

1. 01

   Diplomatic pressure on conflict parties over aid obstruction and access conditions

2. 02

   Climate variability and conflict are presented as reinforcing drivers of worsening humanitarian conditions

Key Signals

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  Steps by conflict parties to reduce obstruction of aid and enable humanitarian access

Topics & Keywords

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