Sudan: Hunger, Disease, Dispair - Darfur's Displaced Bear Ever-Mounting Toll of Sudan War

Darfur's Displaced Face Famine Warning, Cholera, and Aid Shortages as Sudan War Toll Mounts

As Sudan's civil war enters its second year, the humanitarian situation in Darfur is deteriorating sharply, with displacement camps reporting a near-total absence of food aid, a looming famine, and a cholera outbreak in a key city. The General Coordination for Displaced Persons and Refugees in Darfur has warned of an imminent famine as a severe lack of rainfall, soaring food prices, and disrupted trade leave communities struggling to secure basic supplies.

Coverage Comparison

Two reports from different streams within AllAfrica's coverage paint a consistent, grim picture. The first focuses on the agricultural and economic drivers of the crisis, highlighting the famine warning issued by the General Coordination for Displaced Persons and Refugees in Darfur, as well as a cholera crisis in El Obeid. The second report details the dire conditions inside displacement camps across Darfur, emphasizing the complete absence of food aid in North Darfur camps (except Tawila) and the limited assistance reaching other areas. Both accounts attribute the crisis to the ongoing conflict, compounded by funding shortages that have forced humanitarian organizations to scale back operations.

While the two sources share a tone of urgency, they emphasize different dimensions: one underscores the natural and economic factors—poor rainfall, record prices, fuel shortages—while the other foregrounds the protection failures and human suffering, including sexual violence and forced departures from camps.

Key Claims

Famine Warning and Agricultural Collapse

Adam Rijal, a spokesperson for the General Coordination for Displaced Persons and Refugees in Darfur, told Radio Dabanga that poor rainfall during the current agricultural season, combined with rising commodity prices, could trigger famine unless humanitarian organizations intervene urgently. Markets in Central Darfur's Nierteti locality have already seen sharp price increases: a sack of millet costs between SDG12,000 and SDG20,000, sugar about SDG3,000, salt and a bar of soap SDG2,000 each, and a bottle of cooking oil SDG5,000.

Emergency rooms and early-warning groups have previously warned that erratic rainfall has dried out farmland and prevented key crops, including millet and sorghum, from germinating. Farmers also face record prices for seeds and fertiliser and severe fuel shortages for ploughing, leaving large areas of farmland uncultivated. Road closures and sieges have further disrupted trade and pushed food prices beyond the reach of many households.

Cholera Crisis in El Obeid

Plan International warned that the humanitarian situation in North Kordofan's capital, El Obeid, is approaching a "disaster" as cholera spreads amid shortages of food and drinking water. The city hosts around 105,000 displaced people in camps and shelters. Plan International said about 70 per cent of El Obeid's drinking-water supply has been disrupted, following attacks and restrictions linked to the RSF siege and the arrival of displaced families.

North Kordofan authorities have launched an aid package for displaced people from West Kordofan, but the details of the package were not specified.

Aid Shortages and Camp Conditions

The General Coordination of Camps for the Displaced and Refugees in Darfur warns of a catastrophic deterioration in humanitarian conditions across displacement camps in the region. Yagoub Furi, the coordination's general coordinator, told Radio Dabanga that camps in North Darfur—with the exception of Tawila camp—are experiencing a complete absence of food aid, particularly the camps at Fata Borno, Kutum, and Kassab.

Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, told a press conference at UN headquarters in New York that a recent assessment finds food is the highest priority for about 236,000 displaced people across five locations in West Jebel Marra locality.

Adam Regal, spokesperson for the Darfur Coordination for the Displaced and Refugees, says displacement camps across Sudan are facing a deepening humanitarian and health crisis that has exceeded the limits of human endurance and is putting thousands of families at risk every day. He says displaced people are living in extremely harsh conditions.

Furi says only limited and inadequate assistance is reaching camps in West, South, Central, and East Darfur, amounting to no more than 10% of actual needs. The aid, he says, is sufficient to support a family for no more than 10 days each month.

He adds that displaced people are forced to leave the camps in search of food, exposing them to looting and the loss of agricultural property such as seeds and ploughs, which represent their future food security.

Sexual Violence and Protection Failures

Fathiya Adam, women's secretary at Hamidiya camp in Zalingei, says women who venture outside the camp to search for food or work are subjected to theft and assault, and in some cases sexual violence. Their belongings, money, and carts are also seized.

Rashid Mohamed Fadl, secretary of Hamidiya camp, told Radio Dabanga that international organizations have scaled back their operations or are preparing to leave due to funding shortages, further reducing the already meager support available to displaced families.

Perspectives

The General Coordination for Displaced Persons and Refugees in Darfur (represented by Adam Rijal and Yagoub Furi) emphasizes the severity of the crisis, warning of imminent famine and a catastrophic deterioration in conditions. They attribute the situation to the combination of conflict, poor rainfall, and funding shortages, and call for urgent humanitarian intervention.

Plan International, an international NGO, focuses on the cholera crisis in El Obeid, describing the situation as approaching a "disaster" and urging international action to protect children and address the worsening humanitarian crisis.

The North Kordofan authorities have taken some action, launching an aid package for displaced people from West Kordofan, but the extent and effectiveness of this package remain unclear.

The UN, through spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, has assessed that food is the highest priority for displaced populations in West Jebel Marra, indicating institutional acknowledgment of the emergency.

These perspectives collectively underscore the multifaceted nature of the crisis—agricultural, health, protection, and funding—and the urgent need for a coordinated response.