EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Key messages
• The FRC finds Famine in at least five areas of Sudan for which reliable data exists, and projects Famine in five additional areas between December 2024 and May 2025. Risk of Famine in the projection period is confirmed in seventeen additional areas.
• The main drivers of Famine risk remain the armed conflict and forced displacement. Urgent political action by all stakeholders with influence is required to achieve a sustainable ceasefire and full respect for IHL from the parties to the conflict, inside and outside of Sudan.
• It is imperative that all parties ensure immediate and unhindered humanitarian access to areas classified as IPC Phase 3 or above (Crisis, Emergency, and Famine). Assistance across all sectors must be scaled up and scaled out immediately across all lifesaving and life protecting sectors. Particular attention is needed to support displaced populations and the households hosting them, to prevent widespread loss of life.
The FRC classifies Famine (IPC Phase 5) for the period of October to November 2024 in Zamzam, Abu Shouk, and Al Salam camps, as well as in the Western Nuba Mountains,1 affecting both residents and IDPs. Between December 2024 and May 2025, Famine (IPC Phase 5) is projected to continue in the same areas and expand in the North Darfur localities of Um Kadadah, Melit, El Fasher, At Tawisha, and Al Lait.
The FRC considers there is a risk of Famine in the Central Nuba Mountains and in areas likely to experience high influxes of IDPs in North and South Darfur. These include Tawila, Nyala Janoub, Nyala Shimal, Beliel, Shattaya, As Sunta, Buram, and Kas in South Darfur, , as well as in Medani Al Kubra and Sharg Al Jazirah in Al Jazirah State, Mayo and Alingaz in Jebel – Awilia in Khartoum State.
The population in areas of intense conflict in Khartoum (Mayo and Alingaz in Jebel Awlia) and Al Jazirah (Medani Al Kubra and Sharg Al Jazirah) might be experiencing the same conditions as that of the areas classified in Famine (IPC Phase 5). However, the lack of recent data prevents the FRC from confirming whether Famine thresholds have been surpassed. Immediate data collection is recommended to determine if Famine exists.
The current analysis reflects the situation during the harvest period, a time when hunger and acute malnutrition are typically at their lowest. From December onwards, there will be few seasonal mitigating factors that could improve conditions on the ground. Only a halt to the conflict, and significant scale-up and scale-out of assistance can prevent an even greater catastrophe.
In the most affected areas, the hunger season is expected to begin well before the next rains. When the rains start, humanitarian assistance will face not only man-made blockages but also logistical challenges. Immediate action to preposition supply stocks is critical to prevent human suffering from spiraling into a crisis of unprecedented severity and magnitude.
For humanitarian decision-makers, politicians, and parties to the conflict, urgent action is required with exceptional measures to end mass suffering and prevent further deaths. This must include areas classified as Famine and those currently at IPC Emergency and Crisis levels of food and nutrition insecurity, which are at risk of deteriorating into Famine in the coming months.
Data and verifiable information, especially on IDPs in settlements and hosted in public buildings, as well as in areas at risk of Famine in South Darfur, Al Jazirah, and Khartoum is extremely scarce and there is an urgent need to continue and strength data collection as well as the humanitarian response. Parties to the conflict must prioritize removing administrative and security barriers to enable effective data collection and analysis for the millions of people identified by the FRC as being at very high risk of famine.