In Sudan, hunger has become a silent weapon of war, tightening its grip on the youngest and most vulnerable as the country descends deeper into one of the world’s most severe humanitarian disasters. According to reporting by El País, and supported by field data from UNICEF and local aid organizations, the crisis is now pushing millions of children into acute malnutrition, with projections warning of catastrophic levels throughout 2026.
In a makeshift clinic in Jebel Awlia, a densely populated district about 40 kilometers south of Khartoum, the human cost of the crisis is immediate and devastating. Beneath a corrugated metal roof and in temperatures nearing 40 degrees Celsius, mothers sit cradling fragile infants while waiting for treatment. The only sound inside the facility is the constant crying of babies weakened by hunger. One young mother, Mazan Adam, explains that she comes because the clinic provides food for her child free of charge. Her daughter Fatima, just 13 months old, weighs only six kilograms. Health workers confirm she is suffering from severe acute malnutrition, a condition that can quickly become fatal without treatment.
Jebel Awlia has become a stark symbol of Sudan’s broader collapse. UNICEF estimates that around 90,000 children in the area alone are acutely malnourished, with at least 24,000 suffering from the most dangerous form. The district, which hosts more than 1.1 million people including displaced families and refugees, was already under extreme pressure before the war began in April 2023. The conflict has since overwhelmed fragile food and health systems, pushing communities to the edge of survival.
Across Sudan, the scale of the emergency is staggering. Aid agencies describe it as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, with nearly 34 million people, roughly 65% of the population, requiring urgent assistance. The World Food Programme estimates that 19 million people face severe food insecurity, reflecting a country where access to basic nutrition has become increasingly dependent on humanitarian deliveries that are often disrupted or insufficient.
The impact on children is particularly devastating. UNICEF projects that in 2026 alone, 4.2 million children in Sudan will suffer from acute malnutrition, including more than 826,000 in severe condition. Many of the worst-affected cases are concentrated in Darfur, where conflict and displacement have further strained already collapsing supply chains. Since the war began, more than 5,700 grave violations against children have been documented, including killings and mutilations. In the first months of 2026 alone, at least 160 children were reported killed and 85 injured, a rise that UNICEF describes as a worsening trend.
For families in Jebel Awlia, these statistics are not abstract numbers but lived reality. Another mother, Marwa Alswar, describes how survival has become a daily struggle since armed groups expanded their control over the area. She recalls the early months of the war when food was still available, but says conditions deteriorated sharply once fighting intensified. Today, she cares for five children while pregnant and without stable income, and says that some days her family can barely afford even a cup of tea.
Despite continued insecurity, humanitarian access has improved slightly since mid-2025, allowing organizations such as UNICEF to expand limited operations. Working with local NGOs like Almanar, UNICEF now supports multiple health centers in Jebel Awlia, providing logistical support and funding to deliver basic nutrition services. According to Eva Hinds, a UNICEF official cited in El País reporting, more than 1,100 children with severe acute malnutrition have received life-saving treatment since early 2026.
Treatment typically includes therapeutic foods such as Plumpy’Nut, a peanut-based paste enriched with vitamins and minerals, along with fortified milk and micronutrient supplements. However, aid workers and families alike stress that these interventions, while essential, are not enough to meet the scale of need. Many households continue to survive on one meal a day or less, as food prices soar and access to clean water, electricity, and basic goods collapses.
Inside the clinics, local workers carry the burden of response. Almanar staff, many of whom are women, conduct basic medical assessments using simple tools such as mid-upper arm circumference measurements to identify children at risk. One health supervisor with two decades of emergency experience told El País that she has never seen malnutrition reach such extreme levels, noting that most cases come from displacement camps where families lack even basic shelter.
Community outreach volunteers also play a crucial role. One such volunteer, Fadia Musa, goes door to door identifying children suffering from malnutrition and convincing hesitant families to bring them to clinics. She recounts encountering a severely malnourished infant whose caregiver initially refused treatment until she insisted on staying until the child was taken for care. These grassroots efforts have become essential in a system where formal health infrastructure has largely collapsed.
Yet behind every intervention lies profound loss. Another young mother, Raga Mustafa, recounts how she lost her husband during the fighting and has since struggled to keep her two children alive amid rising prices and total infrastructure breakdown. She describes a reality where basic goods are unaffordable, and essential services such as water and electricity no longer function, leaving entire households in survival mode.
The humanitarian organization Almanar, operating on the ground in coordination with international partners, says the scale of destruction has dismantled livelihoods across entire communities. Even experienced health workers say they are overwhelmed by the combination of displacement, hunger, and ongoing violence. According to El País, a significant proportion of malnutrition cases originate from overcrowded displacement camps where families live without reliable access to food or shelter.
Despite small signs of recovery in limited areas where aid access has improved, the overall outlook remains bleak. As Sudan’s conflict continues and humanitarian funding struggles to match the scale of need, children like Fatima and Khalid remain at the center of a crisis that is reshaping an entire generation. For many families, survival is reduced to the most basic calculation of whether there will be enough food to reach the next day, or even a single cup of tea.
