Attachments
Highlights:
- Sudan’s crisis deepened in February, with 33.7 million people, including 17.3 million children, requiring urgent humanitarian assistance as conflict escalated across Darfur, Kordofan and Blue Nile. Displacement reached 9.1 million people, one of the highest figures globally.
- A significant achievement was the interruption of cholera transmission, with zero cases reported during the month. UNICEF and partners supported this outcome by delivering integrated health, nutrition, WASH and protection services at scale. 386,700 people received primary health care, 29,870 children were treated for severe acute malnutrition, and 3.9 million people gained access to safe water. Education support reached 10,400 children, while 311,400 children and caregivers accessed critical child protection services.
- UNICEF’s Sudan humanitarian appeal remained only 16 per cent funded, significantly constraining the scale and continuity of lifesaving interventions and leaving crisis affected children increasingly vulnerable.
SITUATION IN NUMBERS
17,300,000 Children in need of humanitarian assistance
33,700,000 People in need of humanitarian assistance
9,139,309 Internally Displaced People
FUNDING OVERVIEW AND PARTNERSHIPS
In 2026, UNICEF’s Humanitarian Action for Children4 (HAC) appeal for Sudan amounts to US$ 963 million, highlighting the extraordinary scale and complexity of the crisis. Sudan continues to face one of the world’s gravest humanitarian emergencies, with 33.7 million people— including 17.3 million children—requiring urgent, life saving assistance. The crisis is driven by nearly three years of conflict, widespread displacement, food insecurity, disease outbreaks and the collapse of essential services, leaving millions of children at risk of violence, malnutrition, exploitation, and prolonged disruption to education.
The 2026 HAC prioritizes lifesaving, childcentred, multisectoral interventions across health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), education, child protection and humanitarian cash assistance. UNICEF aims to reach 13.8 million people, including 7.9 million children, with an integrated package of essential services. Programming focuses on sustaining critical health and nutrition services, preventing and treating severe acute malnutrition, expanding access to safe water, ensuring access to learning and psychosocial support, and strengthening child protection systems—including family tracing, reunification, mine risk education and safe spaces.
The appeal underscores the urgent need for predictable, flexible funding to sustain service delivery amid rising needs and shrinking access. As of 28 February 2026, UNICEF had mobilised US$ 149.9 million for the 2026 HAC appeal, including US$ 22.8 million received in 2026 and US$ 127.1 million carried forward from 2025. No new contributions were received in the reporting period and the US$ 962.6 million HAC appeal remains significantly underfunded, with only 16 per cent of requirements met and an 84 per cent funding gap. This significant shortfall is already constraining the scale and continuity of lifesaving interventions across sectors, placing millions of children at heightened risk.
UNICEF extends its sincere appreciation to its donors and partners whose support has underpinned the 2026 response. Key contributors include the European Union and the governments of Canada, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, alongside multilateral and global partners such as the World Bank, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Global Fund, the Child Nutrition Fund, the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), Education Cannot Wait (ECW), Education Above All, UNICEF National Committees, and generous private sector partners.
With the conflict continuing to devastate communities and dismantle essential systems, children remain increasingly exposed to malnutrition, disease, exploitation and prolonged disruption to learning. UNICEF therefore calls for the following:
• Intensification of diplomatic efforts to secure an immediate cessation of hostilities and uphold international humanitarian law, placing the protection of civilians, especially children and women, at the forefront of all actions.
• Safety and protection of humanitarian workers and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, schools and water systems, so that life-saving services for children and families can continue without interruption.
• Safe, sustained and unimpeded humanitarian access, including across borders and across conflict lines, so assistance can reach the most vulnerable children and families in need.
• Provision of timely, flexible and sustained funding to enable UNICEF and partners to deliver assistance at scale in an increasingly complex and volatile environment.
SITUATION OVERVIEW AND HUMANITARIAN NEEDS
The humanitarian situation in Sudan remained highly complex, with escalating conflict in Kordofan, North Darfur, and Blue Nile states driving continued displacement, violence, and disruptions in access to essential services. These hotspots witnessed a rapid and further deterioration in conditions for already vulnerable populations.
In Kordofan states, the situation continued to worsen. Intensifying conflict, shelling, and shifting frontlines, particularly in South and North Kordofan severely restricted movement and humanitarian access. Drone strikes and military confrontations in Kadugli and Dilling deepened the crisis despite the partial lifting of sieges. Humanitarian delivery along the Al Rahad–Kurtalla–Dilling–Kadugli corridor remained extremely difficult. Population movements from Kadugli and Dilling toward North Kordofan, especially Al Rahad, and White Nile continued, while others fled to eastern localities in South Kordofan. Conflict in Al Obeid, Bara, and other parts of North Kordofan also caused continued displacement from hotspot areas to safer locations. So far, more than 115,000 people5 are displaced from three states in Kordofan. Renewed conflict in Blue Nile also displaced over 18,000 people from Kumruk, Tadamon, and Bau localities.
North Darfur remained one of the most volatile areas, with frontlines shifting and military confrontations intensifying in Al Tina and Mistariha in Kabkabia locality. This insecurity disrupted humanitarian assistance and worsened an already critical nutrition situation. The escalation of conflict in Mistariha forced around 4,500 people7 to leave Mistariha to Kabkabia in February alone. Access to basic services in the hotspot localities in North Darfur including Al Fasher and surrounding areas remained severely constrained.
While no new Cholera cases were reported in February, disease outbreaks remained an issue of concern. Although overall cases of dengue fever, malaria, and measles generally declined, hotspots in Darfur, Khartoum and White Nile states continued to report cases. Hepatitis E cases continued to be reported, mostly from Aj Jazirah state.