Most displaced families in Sudan’s Kordofan without aid for months, UN says
March 25, 2026 (KHARTOUM) – Most displaced families in Sudan’s three Kordofan states have received no humanitarian assistance in the last three months, UN Women said in a report on Wednesday.
The Greater Kordofan region currently hosts over one million displaced people, nearly half of whom are women and girls. Displaced populations in the area have increased by 15% since fighting escalated in October 2025.
UN Women reported that 91% of households in North Kordofan, 87% in West Kordofan, and 72% in South Kordofan received no aid during the reporting period. Those who did receive assistance described it as insufficient for their basic needs.
The findings were based on a qualitative survey of 43 women-led organizations and discussions with female community leaders providing frontline humanitarian support across the region.
The report warned of catastrophic food insecurity, noting that more than half of displaced families in South Kordofan had gone an entire day and night without food in the month prior to the survey.
Female-headed households in Sudan are three times more likely to face food insecurity than those led by men. Before the war, women made up 85% of the rain-fed agricultural workforce in Darfur and Kordofan, but conflict has dismantled these structural systems.
Healthcare access has also collapsed, with reports of women suffering miscarriages on the road while fleeing conflict and newborn deaths caused by extreme food shortages.
In West Kordofan, some health facilities have resorted to using veterinary medicines to treat humans due to a total lack of medical supplies. In South Kordofan, expanding gold mining operations are reportedly polluting water sources, leading to a spike in miscarriages.
The crisis has taken a severe psychological toll on girls who have been forced out of school. Humanitarian actors noted a direct link between these pressures and a rise in early and forced marriages.
Sexual violence remains the most severe protection risk for women and girls in the region. The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) documented 111 cases in North Kordofan between 2023 and 2025.
Experts believe these figures represent only a fraction of the actual total due to deep-seated social stigma and the breakdown of reporting mechanisms.
A Save the Children survey cited in the report found that approximately 80% of girls in South Kordofan and 70% in North Kordofan had experienced some form of violence. Response services for rape victims are almost non-existent, with one local organization able to provide support for only two out of 12 documented cases.