The World Food Programme (WFP) has issued a stark warning about worsening humanitarian conditions in Sudan, particularly in the Darfur and Kordofan regions, as ongoing fighting continues to displace large populations and stretch already limited resources. WFP Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response, Ross Smith, provided updates during a press briefing from Rome, highlighting the dire situation in El Fasher, North Darfur. Between 70,000 and 100,000 people are believed to be trapped in the city, where network blackouts have cut communications and limited information is available. Reports and satellite imagery describe mass killings, burned bodies, and abandoned markets, with no functioning trade routes or humanitarian services. Leaving the city is extremely dangerous due to risks of robbery, gender-based violence, and mines or unexploded ordnance, while displaced individuals face exorbitant costs for transportation and major protection risks.
In Tawila, North Darfur, more than 650,000 people have sought refuge, swelling the town into a sprawling displacement settlement. Many fled from Zamzam IDP camp in April 2025, with new arrivals coming from El Fasher after RSF took control in October 2025. Families live in overcrowded makeshift shelters, facing widespread cholera, insufficient healthcare, limited sanitation, and stretched humanitarian support. WFP has assisted around half a million people in Tawila and continues to reach two million people monthly across North Darfur, while over four million across Sudan receive emergency food, cash, and nutrition aid. Convoys are en route carrying 8,600 metric tons of supplies, enough for 700,000 people for one month, though humanitarian operations remain highly risky, as demonstrated by a recent attack on a convoy truck.
The conflict remains fluid, with shifting territorial control placing communities at severe risk. Deadly assaults on Zamzam and El Fasher serve as stark reminders of the human cost, while escalating violence in Kordofan, particularly Kadugli, threatens to replicate the devastation. WFP has managed limited aid deliveries to Kadugli, with additional convoys ready once access is granted.
Funding challenges pose a critical risk to sustaining aid. WFP warns of potential ration cuts beginning in January 2026, with supplies stretched to the minimum survival level—70 percent for famine-affected areas and 50 percent for communities at risk of famine. Without new funding, full pipeline breaks for food and nutrition supplies could occur by April 2026. A massive surge in displacement, similar to recent events in El Fasher, could force WFP to cut assistance elsewhere in Sudan. To maintain current operations and prevent the hunger crisis from worsening, $695 million is urgently needed over the next six months.
