Drought on top of war pushes Sudan's Darfur and Kordofan toward famine, hunger monitor warns
Oct. 12, 2026 — The risk of famine is growing in parts of Sudan as a severe El Niño drought compounds war in Greater Darfur and Greater Kordofan, the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification warned in a new alert, UN News reported.
In two camps for displaced people in Eastern Jebel Marra, South Darfur, acute malnutrition among children reached 38% and 30.8%, above the famine threshold. Across Greater Darfur, 13 of 17 nutrition surveys since January found critical levels. Drought now covers more than half of Sudan, and in North Darfur 64% of cropland shows poor plant growth. Rains arrived in late September, too late to save most cereal crops, and cereal prices are very likely to keep rising, the alert said.
Greater Kordofan, which the alert called the epicentre of the conflict, has seen more than 300,000 people displaced since October 2025. Aid is not keeping up, held back by a severe lack of funding, insecurity and restricted access, the IPC said.
The wall: The warring parties' accounts of access restrictions were not included.
Tier: Reported (based on UN News' account of the IPC alert)
Sources
This newsfeed was produced and brought to you by Temporal Data Dynamics Technology. For more information, visit temporaldatadynamics.com.