The crisis in Sudan, explained
Five things you need to know, three years in
Apr 14, 2026
On April 15, 2023, violent clashes in Sudan’s capital of Khartoum sparked a nationwide conflict. Three years in, Sudan is the largest humanitarian crisis in recent history, and the situation continues to deteriorate.
More than 72% of the country’s population requires some form of humanitarian assistance — an increase of roughly 20% compared to last year, and of nearly 50% compared to 2024.
At the same time, over 11.5 million Sudanese have been displaced—including more than 4.5 million internally, and still at risk for violence. Here’s what you need to know as this crisis enters its fourth year.
1. How did we get here?
April 15 marks the anniversary of the crisis in Sudan, but it didn’t happen overnight. It’s the result of more than two decades of conflict, civic unrest, and political instability. We’ve seen it play out in headlines over the last 20 years, from violence in Darfur breaking out in 2003 to months of civilian protests in 2019 that led to a change in leadership and hope for millions.
Those hopes were dashed in the ensuing years. Progress for Sudan’s transitional government slowed, leaving room for uncertainty, tension, and violence. In October 2021, the military seized power in a coup. What followed was a steady escalation between the country’s two governing forces, culminating in open conflict in April 2023.
2. This is the largest humanitarian crisis in modern history
By the time fighting erupted in 2023, many Sudanese families and communities were already deeply vulnerable after decades of instability. In 2022 alone, UNOCHA reported that 300,000 people were displaced by conflict, including nearly 33,000 forced from their homes in just a single month of fighting in West Kordofan and Central Darfur.
At the start of 2023, one out of every three people in Sudan already needed humanitarian assistance (some 15.8 million people).
Since then, the situation has spiraled. Today, more than 33.7 million people—over 72% of Sudan’s population—are in need of humanitarian assistance. By sheer scale, this has become the largest crisis in the history of modern humanitarian response. Behind that superlative are millions of families forced from their homes, losing everything they own, and trying to survive without consistent access to food, water, or protection.
3. Nearly 25 million people are facing acute food insecurity
Intensified violence in Sudan has left millions of families facing extreme hunger. At the beginning of this year, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification estimated that nearly 19 million people are facing crisis or emergency levels of hunger, struggling to find enough food to survive. For over 206,000 people facing IPC Phase 5—the highest classification, considered to be “catastrophic” levels of hunger—the situation is even more dire, with survival itself uncertain.
At the same time, the help people rely on is falling short due to funding cuts. Last year, the UN reported that only 3.5 million of the 10 million who needed emergency food assistance received regular support, meaning that millions were left without a lifeline.
Children are paying the highest price in these circumstances: In North Darfur (the heart of Sudan’s hunger crisis), UNICEF estimates that a child was diagnosed with acute malnutrition every six minutes in 2025.
4. Sudan’s healthcare system is breaking down
In January, the World Health Organization warned that Sudan’s health system was on “the brink of collapse.”
In conflict zones, more than 70% of the healthcare system has stopped functioning. Doctors, nurses, midwives, and other healthcare workers are also on the frontlines with attacks on health systems. According to the WHO, at least 173 health workers have been killed since April 2023, and more than 200 attacks on healthcare facilities have been verified—along with more than 1,800 related casualties.
For the facilities that remain functional, staff and supply shortages are severe. Basic necessities like medications, vaccines, and working equipment are all hard to come by. So too are clean water and adequate hygiene and sanitation systems. These conditions, as well as the poor living conditions for many in conflict and displacement zones, are fueling outbreaks of preventable diseases like cholera, dengue, malaria, measles, and hepatitis E—making an already dire situation even more dangerous for millions.
5. We’re losing momentum at a critical moment
Amid increased suffering and need in 2025, the humanitarian response in Sudan has also worsened in the face of drastic funding cuts, which have forced organizations to scale back. Despite an increase in people requiring assistance in 2026, the UN’s humanitarian response plan for this year targets fewer people than it did in 2025.
The impacts of these measures were felt in 2025: In one of the world’s largest displacement crises, only a fraction of those targeted for shelter and protection support actually received it last year (7.5%, to be exact). More than 2.7 million people also lost access to essential healthcare as funding dried up.
But for the 33.7 million people people in Sudan who need support, the gap between need and funding isn’t an abstract problem. It’s the difference between life and death. If that gap continues to grow, this crisis won’t simply persist, it will deepen and threaten to spread.
This is a moment where pulling back has real, lasting consequences; and where renewing and sustaining support can still make the difference between a crisis that spreads and one that can be contained.
The crisis in Sudan: Concern’s response
Concern has worked in Sudan for over 40 years, delivering both emergency aid and long-term development. We’ve been responding to the current conflict since day one with integrated programs focused on conflict-affected communities.
In the past three years, we’ve adapted to rapidly-changing needs, supporting health, nutrition, water and sanitation, food security, and emergency livelihoods. In 2025 alone, we reached nearly 745,000 people (both directly and indirectly), supporting health facilities, delivering primary care, and treating malnutrition—especially among young children and pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. We also helped families meet basic needs through cash assistance, food support, and essential supplies.
Beyond Sudan, we’re also supporting refugees who have fled to neighboring Chad and South Sudan with shelter, healthcare, and nutrition services.
Your donation can help us reach even more people with food, clean water, healthcare, and other critical support when it’s needed most.
