War, displacement and drought are raising the risk of famine in Sudan’s Darfur and Kordofan regions. A 12 October warning from the IPC food-security monitor cites damaged harvests, barriers to aid and worsening severe malnutrition among children. It is a warning of deteriorating conditions, not a new formal famine classification for every affected area. Humanitarian access and the drought’s effect on farming remain immediate constraints.
Geopolitics··Evening
Risk warning covers Darfur and Kordofan
Famine risk is rising in Sudan’s western Darfur and southern Kordofan regions. The international Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, warned on 12 October that war, displacement and drought associated with El Niño are acting together. Drought affects roughly half the country, reducing harvests, raising food prices and weakening household incomes. Fighting also makes it harder for farmers to work and for humanitarian groups to deliver food. The warning does not declare a new formal famine classification across all of Darfur and Kordofan. It identifies worsening conditions and areas at risk of famine within those regions.[1], [2]
Harvest and nutrition indicators deteriorate
Vegetation growth is poor on nearly two-thirds of cropland in North Darfur and about half in South Darfur, West Kordofan and South Kordofan. Delayed rain has disrupted planting in North Darfur while food stocks have fallen to critically low levels. Western Kordofan is experiencing one of its worst droughts since 2004. The IPC says that among children receiving nutrition services in Nyala, South Darfur, the share admitted with severe acute malnutrition rose from about 5% to 11% between January and August. Overall acute malnutrition exceeded famine thresholds in two displacement camps in South Darfur. Findings at those camps should not automatically be generalized to the entire region.[1]
War constrains relief access
Sudan’s war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces began in Khartoum in April 2023 and spread to other regions. The fighting has displaced millions of people, with drought adding to the loss of livelihoods. In the IPC’s May assessment, nearly 19.5 million people, more than 40% of the population, faced high levels of acute food insecurity. Of those, 135,000 were in the most severe fifth phase. The new warning does not present those figures as a current famine count for all of Darfur and Kordofan. Health care is extremely limited, and in some places inaccessible, while scarce clean water adds disease risk for malnourished people. Safe, sustained aid access remains difficult during the continuing conflict.[1]
