Sudan: The Most Serious Humanitarian Crisis to Date.

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On January 9, 2026, the civil war in Sudan marked its 1,000th day. Nearly three years of relentless violence have created what United Nation agencies describe as the world’s most severe humanitarian crisis. While other global emergencies are dreadful, none match Sudan’s simultaneous levels of conflict, intensity, mass displacement, acute hunger, and systemic obstruction of aid.

The conflict began in April 2023 when the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) clashed for control, and it quickly spread beyond the capital Khartoum into Darfur, Kordofan and other regions. The fighting has shattered infrastructure, weakened state institutions and left civilians exposed to widespread violence, displacement and deprivation. As a result, the World Health Organisation estimates 33.7 million people will require humanitarian assistance in 2026.

Sudan entered the war already burdened by hunger, displacement, and economic fragility, but the conflict has deepened every existing vulnerability. The health system is nearing total collapse: more than one third of medical facilities are non-function, cutting millions off from essential care. Hundreds of verified attacks on hospitals and clinics have killed or injured health workers, patients, and caregivers, violating international humanitarian law and further degrading already-weakened services. Humanitarian organisations continue to deliver medicines, support vaccination campaigns, and operate mobile clinics, yet insecurity and bureaucratic obstacles mean these efforts meet only a fraction of the immense need.

Food insecurity has reached catastrophic levels. Around 21 million people face severe hunger as markets fail, livelihoods vanish, and aid convoys are obstructed. Malnutrition among children in Darfur and Kordofan has surged, overwhelming treatment centres. Simultaneously, outbreaks of cholera, malaria, dengue, and measles are spreading rapidly in overcrowded displacement sites where sanitation is poor and healthcare scarce.

Displacement is unprecedented in scale. Approximately 13.6 million people have been uprooted, 9.3 million within Sudan and 4.3 million across borders. Camps and informal settlements are severely overcrowded, heightening risks of disease, malnutrition, and violence, and complicating sustained humanitarian access. Women and children make up the majority of refugees and face heightened exposure to sexual assault and gender-based violence. Reports of ethnically targeted killings and the weaponisation of sexual violence against the Masalit people have intensified concerns. The situation in Darfur is especially dire as international actors start describing the violence committed by RSF as genocide. 

The RSF’s capture of the city El Fasher in late 2025 consolidated its control over Darfur and triggered yet another wave of mass displacement amid reports of large-scale killings. Diplomatic efforts have repeatedly faltered. Attempts to broker ceasefire or political agreements have not been held. A humanitarian ceasefire accepted by the RSF in November 2025 briefly raised hopes, however no real resolution was put in action. On January 14, 2026, peace efforts resumed in Cairo, where Egypt and the UN urged both sides to accept a nationwide humanitarian truce. While limited, the meeting produced notable outcomes: Egypt, the UN, and regional partners reaffirmed a coordinated push for a humanitarian ceasefire, including safe corridors and partial withdrawals to enable aid delivery. U.S. mediation also facilitated the first aid shipment to reach El Fashir in 18 months, marking a small but meaningful breakthrough. 

Nevertheless, fighting continues, atrocities persist, and no durable ceasefire or political settlement has yet emerged. On January 19, 2026, the International Criminal Court’s Deputy Prosecutor delivered a dreary update, warning that the crisis in Darfur is deepening and spreading from town to town in a coordinated campaign of violence. Civilians now face an escalating cycle of mass killings, torture, and sexual violence, reflecting a broader pattern of organised brutality. Evidence gathered by the ICC investigators across multiple cities points to systemic war crimes rather than isolated incidents, revealing a consistent method of targeting vulnerable communities. Prosecutors warn that, without the arrest of senior suspects long shielded from accountability, these abuses are likely to deepen, sustained by a pervasive sense of impunity that continues to drive the conflict.

written by Antonina Axenti