ISLAMABAD: The United Nations has warned that an estimated 4.2 million children and pregnant or breastfeeding women in Sudan are at risk of acute malnutrition in 2026, as ongoing conflict continues to erode food security and essential services across the country.
According to the Global Nutrition Cluster, around 8.4 million people will require nutritional assistance next year, including 5 million children under the age of five and 3.4 million pregnant and breastfeeding women. The UN-led coordination group said nearly 824,000 children under five are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition, the most life-threatening form of undernutrition that significantly increases the risk of death without urgent treatment.
Recent assessments revealed alarming trends, with 31 out of 61 nutrition surveys recording global acute malnutrition rates of 15 percent or higher, exceeding the World Health Organization’s emergency threshold. UN agencies warned that conditions are likely to worsen in 2026 due to intensifying conflict, declining food availability, and widespread damage to health facilities and water infrastructure.
UNICEF said it plans to mobilize nearly $1 billion in 2026 to assist 13.8 million people in Sudan, including 7.9 million children, describing the situation as a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian emergency.
Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) cautioned that without immediate funding, its food stocks could run out by the end of March, potentially cutting off assistance to millions of vulnerable people.
A UN report issued in late 2025 confirmed famine conditions in El Fasher in North Darfur and Kadugli in South Kordofan. The Sudanese government, however, rejected the findings, calling the assessments exaggerated.
Sudan has remained engulfed in violent conflict since April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of millions.
