Each year, the International Rescue Committee’s Emergency Watchlist analyzes which countries are most likely to experience a deteriorating humanitarian crisis. This year, Sudan tops the list due to escalating conflict, mass displacement, an economic crisis and a near collapse of health care services.

The power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted into a large-scale conflict in April 2023 and has been driving humanitarian needs in the country ever since. Conservative estimates say the conflict has killed more than 20,000 people and injured more than 33,000 others.

Before the conflict, Sudan was already experiencing a severe humanitarian crisis. Long-term political instability and economic pressures left 15.8 million people in need of humanitarian aid. The conflict has only exacerbated these conditions, leaving 25.6 million people—more than half of Sudan’s population—in need. 

The brutal conflict has forced more than 11 million people from their homes. The vast majority—over 8.1 million people—remain within Sudan, representing the largest displacement crisis in the world.

Amidst mass displacement and reports of mass killings, humanitarian access has been severely curtailed, making it extremely hard for aid to reach vulnerable communities. Learn more about this ongoing crisis below.

Read the IRC’s new Watchlist Alert on the escalating crisis in Sudan.

Altuma stands in her temporary house with her three children.
Conflict forced Altuma, 46, and her nine children to flee their home in Khartoum, displacing them multiple times. Now in Gedaref, they face the challenge of living in temporary housing with limited protection from the weather conditions.
Photo: Noory Taha for the IRC

What do the people of Sudan face today?

Before the outbreak of conflict, Sudan was already facing a humanitarian crisis due to extreme weather shocks, social and political unrest, and rising food prices that continue to drive poverty, hunger and displacement.

War continues to rage in Sudan

Conflict between the SAF and RSF erupted on April 15, 2023. While fighting has been chiefly concentrated in the country’s capital, Khartoum, the conflict has impacted other regions of the country. In Darfur, mass killings and displacement have led to reports of ethnic cleansing.

While the conflict in Sudan continues to spread, humanitarian access has become more limited. Intense violence and movement restrictions on humanitarian actors have prevented the delivery of aid, especially in the south of Sudan where needs are highest. ACAPS has rated the constraints on humanitarian access in Sudan as extreme (5 out of 5).

As the conflict continues in the face of floundering diplomatic efforts, humanitarian needs will continue to rise–and the ability to meet them will fall.

Fairuz stands outside the camp with her grandchildren.
The conflict has driven families across borders to transit centers like this one in Renk, South Sudan. Fairuz Faiz Deng, 60, arrived here in May 2023 with her brother and his family, and her grandchildren.
Photo: Fahmo Mohammed for the IRC

A health system on the brink of collapse

The conflict in Sudan has decimated the country’s public infrastructure, including the health system. The health care system is suffering from an acute lack of staff, funding and medical supplies in addition to repeated attacks, looting and occupation of medical facilities and hospitals. More than 70 percent of health facilities are currently non-functional.

The virtual collapse of Sudan’s health care system, among other critical services, threatens Sudanese communities, present and future.

The displacement of civilians has placed an additional strain on health care resources, as well as water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services. An outbreak of measles has claimed the lives of more than 1,000 children across Sudan, while a severe cholera outbreak has resulted in 8,000 confirmed cases and 299 deaths.

With high rates of malnutrition, a debilitated health system and low levels of immunization, disease outbreaks will continue to have catastrophic impacts, particularly for children.

Economic crisis exacerbates widespread poverty

Prior to the outbreak of conflict, Sudan’s economy was marred by rampant inflation and shortages of essential goods, leading to protests across the country. Now, conflict has worsened the economic crisis.

Nearly half of Sudan’s population is unemployed while the Sudanese pound has lost at least 50% of its value. In Khartoum, factories, banks, shops and markets have been looted or damaged, further reducing the population’s access to goods, services and cash. 

People have also been experiencing pockets of internet and communication blackouts, leaving millions struggling to contact their families, seek safe zones, access essentials and use mobile money services.

At least 10,400 schools in conflict-affected areas are shuttered, leaving an estimated 19 million children without education and at risk of abuse or exploitation, up from nearly 7 million before conflict broke out. Without a cease in violence, no child in Sudan will be able to return to school, leaving them exposed to immediate and long-term dangers, including displacement, recruitment by armed groups and sexual violence.

Extreme food insecurity impacts over 25 million people

Extreme levels of food insecurity and malnutrition are affecting over 25 million people in Sudan, marking one of the worst food insecurity emergencies in the world. The IPC has concluded that 755,000 people across 10 states in Sudan are now experiencing catastrophic levels of hunger (IPC5) and face an imminent risk of starvation.

Humanitarian access to some areas has been restricted, severely affecting the ability to reach populations in need. Meanwhile, soaring food prices, low purchasing power, and an inflation rate that is set to exceed 300% combine to exacerbate the severe food shortage.

A hunger crisis of unimaginable proportions is not a future concern, but a present reality in certain parts of the country.

Intense fighting in Sudan has driven some 500,000 internally displaced people in the Zamzam camp into famine conditions. One in five households in this area face an extreme lack of food with little to no options to feed themselves. 

“An immediate ceasefire is now more critical than ever to prevent mass deaths resulting from a hunger crisis that is rapidly spreading across Sudan,” says IRC country director for Sudan, Eatizaz Yousif.

Almas holds her son Hermon while receiving vital support from an IRC nutrition specialist.
Almas, 28, a mother displaced from the conflict in Khartoum, holds her son Hermon while receiving vital support from an IRC nutrition specialist in Gedaref, Sudan.
Photo: Noory Taha for the IRC

Accelerated displacement throughout Sudan

The conflict in Sudan has already led to extreme levels of displacement, both internally and across Sudan’s borders. More than 8.1 million Sudanese have been displaced within the country—representing the largest internal displacement crisis in the world.

Meanwhile, 3 million people—mostly women and children—have fled Sudan to neighboring countries, including 600,000 who have arrived in Chad and 100,000 who arrived in Libya and Uganda respectively. While neighboring countries have welcomed Sudanese refugees fleeing conflict, they do not have the resources to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of those arriving across the border without international support.

The IRC is on the ground in Sudan, and in the neighboring countries where families are arriving, to provide critical support and services to those affected by the war in Sudan.

How is the IRC helping in Sudan?

 In response to increasing needs, the IRC has scaled up its humanitarian efforts despite immense challenges, including office closures and suspensions due to security concerns. We are supporting Sudanese communities, both within the country and across national borders by delivering:

Shortly after conflict broke out in April 2023, the IRC established a presence in Wad Madani, Al Jazirah state where we delivered health and nutrition services to IDPs fleeing Khartoum until we were forced to close the office and relocate our staff. We are currently operational in Blue Nile, Khartoum, Gederaf, River Nile, South Kordofan and White Nile states, and have an office in Port Sudan.

We are delivering direct support to clients in accessible areas of Khartoum, as well as indirect support through our locally-based community partners.

Donate today to support the IRC’s work in Sudan and in more than 40 countries around the world.

Zakia, a midwife, points to an informational poster.
Zakia Yaqoup (43), a midwife, works with IRC to offer vital prenatal care and delivery support to displaced women in Gedaref.
Photo: Noory Taha for the IRC

How is the IRC helping Sudanese refugees?

3 million asylum seekers have sought refuge in neighboring countries since April 2023. The IRC has expanded our critical services to support Sudanese refugees, including in Uganda, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Chad—which already hosted 400,000 Sudanese refugees.

More than ninety percent of the 600,000 Sudanese refugees who have arrived in Chad since April 2023 are women and children. One-fifth of young children who arrive are experiencing acute malnutrition.

“The fact that women and children make up such a large proportion of the new arrivals in Chad is particularly worrying because they are often the most vulnerable groups in conflict situations,” explains IRC Chad Country Director, Aleksandra Roulet-Cimpric. “Women and children are at greater risk of violence, exploitation, and abuse, and they may also face difficulties accessing basic necessities such as food, water and healthcare.”

In Chad, the IRC is providing drinking water and running mobile health clinics to attend to the vast health needs of the arriving population. In addition to providing immediate relief, the IRC has scaled up its support in the areas of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), health, and protection. This includes providing access to safe water and sanitation facilities to prevent the spread of disease.

A mother sits in a hospital room with a newborn child in her lap. Mosquito netting offers a thin veil of the room behind them.
Raouda* holds her newborn child, AbdelIrahim, in the IRC’s health center in Gaga refugee camp, Chad. Raouda was displaced by the war in Sudan and forced to flee across the border while she was nine months pregnant.
Photo: Chloé Leconte for the IRC

How can I help?

Donate now to support the IRC's life-changing work in Sudan and worldwide. We are on the frontlines providing critical aid to crisis-affected people in more than 40 countries, including places on the 2024 Emergency Watchlist.

Read more about the top 10 crises the world can’t ignore in 2024 and learn more about the IRC's 2024 Emergency Watchlist.