Attachments
Executive summary
Since the eruption of conflict in April 2023, the Sudan is now the world’s largest humanitarian, displacement and hunger crisis, with rapidly deteriorating trends. The crisis is driven by widespread hostilities, mass internal displacement, significant refugee outflows, climate shocks and stressors, economic collapse and restricted humanitarian access which continues to impede the delivery of life-saving assistance.
As of September 2025, El Fasher town (North Darfur) and the besieged town of Kadugli (South Kordofan) are classified in Famine (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification [IPC] Phase 5) with reasonable evidence. These conditions are expected to persist through January 2026. The situation in the besieged town of Dilling (South Kordofan) is estimated to be similar; however, the lack of data prevents IPC classification of this area. Uncertainty surrounding the evolution of conflict has heightened the risk of Famine, particularly in 20 areas across Greater Darfur and Greater Kordofan.
In September 2025, an estimated 21.2 million people (45 percent of the population) faced high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above), including 375 000 people (1 percent) in Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) and 6.3 million people (13 percent) in Emergency (IPC Phase 4). The number of people in Crisis or worse (IPC Phase 3 or above) is expected to decline slightly to 19.2 million people (40 percent of the population) from October 2025 to January 2026.
However, in North Darfur and the Western Nuba Mountains, gains from the harvest will remain limited due to conflict and insecurity. During the post-harvest and pre-lean season (February–May 2026), acute food insecurity is projected to worsen, with an estimated 19.1 million people (41 percent) expected to face Crisis or worse (IPC Phase 3 or above) conditions.
Conflict, economic collapse, and climate shocks and stressors (droughts, floods and seasonal shifts) have devastated livelihoods and disrupted local food systems across the Sudan. Agriculture, employing nearly two-thirds of the population and providing over 80 percent of the national food supply,2 remains the backbone of the economy, but is severely constrained. Restoring agricultural production is therefore central to the Sudan’s recovery and long-term stability. Strategic, inclusive investment in climate-resilient and market-oriented agrifood systems can save lives, restore livelihoods and lay the foundations for sustainable food security and nutrition.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO’s) Emergency and Resilience Plan sets out a forward-looking strategy to tackle the Sudan’s deepening food security and livelihood crisis. Drawing on FAO’s long-standing presence, technical expertise and partnerships, the Plan bridges humanitarian response, recovery and long-term resilience, aligning with national priorities and the United Nations (UN) Interim Cooperation Framework.
The Emergency and Resilience Plan provides a results-driven framework built around three interdependent outcomes:
- Timely, reliable and actionable food security and agriculture-related evidence is generated to inform programming and decision-making by FAO and partners.
- Rural livelihoods are safeguarded, access to food is rapidly increased, and nutrition is improved for vulnerable households, including those affected by conflict and displacement.
- Risks and vulnerabilities are reduced at household and community levels.
Through these outcomes, FAO aims to ensure that Sudanese smallholder farmers, particularly women- and child-headed households, internally displaced people (IDPs), refugees, returnees and host communities, become more food-secure and well-nourished through strengthened and more sustainable agricultural livelihoods that are resilient to future shocks and stressors