400,000 displaced people face acute food insecurity in North Kordofan

July 21, 2026 (KHARTOUM) — Nearly 400,000 displaced people across the Sheikan, Bara, and Gharb Bara districts of North Kordofan are facing emergency levels of acute food insecurity, the United Nations warned on Monday as escalating violence continues to deepen Sudan’s humanitarian disaster.

According to World Food Programme assessments highlighted by UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, conditions in El Obeid are deteriorating rapidly. Ongoing clashes and forced displacement toward the regional capital have strained local resources to their breaking point, leaving hundreds of thousands without sufficient food.

The worsening emergency in North Kordofan reflects a broader pattern of displacement and hunger spanning multiple states in the region. In Central Darfur State, humanitarian partners recently identified urgent food assistance as the primary need for approximately 236,000 displaced individuals spread across five sites in the Gharb Jebel Marra locality.

Conditions remain similarly dire in South Darfur, where recent intercommunal clashes have uprooted nearly 4,000 families. These households require immediate emergency shelter and basic essential supplies to survive ongoing instability.

Addressing the briefing, Dujarric called for the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, urging international donors to step up support. The 2026 UN humanitarian response plan for Sudan remains severely underfunded, receiving just $1.1 billion of the $2.9 billion needed to deliver lifesaving relief across the country.