Attachments
The WFP-led Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) was activated on 25 May 2023 to support the humanitarian response to the conflict that began on 15 April 2023. ETC Situation Reports are produced monthly.
Highlights
• ETC continues to serve as the backbone of humanitarian communications in Sudan, providing internet connectivity, security communications, and ICT helpdesk support across the response. Services remain active at 67 sites in seven operational areas.
• ETC Sudan has entered 2026 without secured funding, putting the cluster network that supports partner guesthouses and offices at risk of shutdown. Partners have been advised to prepare alternative connectivity solutions should ETC services cease.
• On 04 January, Sudan’s Telecommunications and Post Regulatory Authority (TPRA) formally notified WFP, as ETC lead, that the Thuraya operational license had expired and all Thuraya satellite phone services in Sudan, including for UN agencies, will be terminated effective 01 February.
Situation overview
Sudan remains in a devastating conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), now entering its third year.
The conflict has created a displacement and protection crisis, collapsed essential services, and driven extreme humanitarian needs nationwide. More than 70% of health facilities are non-functional due to shelling, airstrikes, and prolonged sieges in Khartoum, Omdurman, El Fasher, and parts of Darfur and Kordofan. According to UNHCR, over half the population faces acute food insecurity, with famine confirmed in several areas—including Zamzam camp and the Western Nuba Mountains—and conditions continuing to worsen in 2026. Nearly 25 million people are experiencing hunger, placing Sudan among the world’s most severe hunger crises.
Humanitarian access remains extremely complex. Aid workers face blocked routes, forced operational suspensions, and routine violence targeting civilians and Internally Displaced Person (IDP) sites. Access is particularly restricted in Darfur and the Kordofans, where sieges, active frontlines, and permit denials by both SAF and RSF impede regular humanitarian entry.