Attachments
Sudan’s humanitarian crisis has sharply escalated in 2026, reflecting a deepening convergence of protracted conflict, mass displacement, widespread violations of humanitarian and human rights law, economic collapse, acute food insecurity, climate shocks, and recurring disease outbreaks. As of January 2026, more than 9.2 million people are internally displaced across all 18 states—according to the IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix—placing the country among the world’s largest and fastest-deteriorating displacement crises.
The scale and intensity of needs have overwhelmed already fragile formal and community protection systems,leaving populations increasingly exposed to harm, with women and girls experiencing the most severe and compounding impacts.
Gender-based violence (GBV) has intensified in both private and public spheres, with rising reports of intimate partner violence, domestic abuse, harassment, and exploitation. Heightened insecurity, social breakdown, and economic desperation are accelerating harmful practices such as child and forced marriage, female genital mutilation, and other forms of abuse. Risks are especially acute for adolescent girls, female-headed households, older women, and women and girls with disabilities, whose intersecting vulnerabilities combined with mobility constraints, stigma, and limited specialized services—severely restrict access to safety and support. Reporting remains critically low as fear of retaliation, insecurity, and lack of accessible services deter survivors from seeking help.
Conflict-related sexual violence has also escalated since April 2023, with allegations of rape used as a weapon of war by all parties to the conflict and persistent barriers to care due to attacks on aid workers, and restricted humanitarian access. Following the closure of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) in 2023, the anticipated re-establishment of the MARA Working Group with GBV AoR/UNFPA as core members comes at a critical moment, as strengthened monitoring, reporting, and survivor-centered response are urgently needed to address the rapidly worsening protection landscape under the renewed Cooperation Framework.
These challenges are further intensified by global and national trends that constrain women’s rights and civic space. Restrictive policies, political instability, and social backlash against women’s empowerment limit advocacy and impede the implementation of protection measures. Communities and service providers face mounting pressures, including insufficient and unpredictable funding, and bureaucratic barriers, which reduce the reach, accessibility, and effectiveness of GBV programming. At the global level, these dynamics intersect with underfunded reproductive health and protection services, highlighting the need for integrated approaches that link GBV response with sexual and reproductive health, maternal care, and broader health systems to ensure comprehensive, lifesaving support for women and girls.