Two Years On: Sudan’s Forgotten War Escalates into the World’s Largest Displacement and Humanitarian Crisis

This Sudan conflict is not merely a war; it is a humanitarian disaster of unprecedented scale. Since April 2023, around 12.6 million people have been forced to leave their homes, with 8.8 million displaced within Sudan and 3.7 million seeking refuge in neighbouring countries like South Sudan, Chad, Egypt, and Libya. Hunger and malnutrition are growing rapidly. The number of people facing severe food shortages has tripled, with 24.6 million Sudanese people now at risk of hunger. Acute food insecurity is spreading, with five out of 18 regions the worst affected, and more areas are expected to follow. But humanitarian aid remains challenging to deliver due to limited access, supply blockages, and a worsening liquidity crisis.

Conflict-driven displacement has triggered a chain reaction of suffering, further increasing regional instability and communities’ vulnerability. Mass displacement has forced 17 million children to leave school, robbing them of their education and future, the effects of which will reverberate across generations. In multiple regions, populations are also exposed to explosive hazards, placing lives at immediate risk in conflict-affected areas as casualties soar from shelling and aerial bombardments, decimating civilian infrastructure across the country, particularly health facilities. 

John Rynne, GOAL’s Regional Director for Africa, speaks to how the now two-year-old conflict has triggered a chain reaction of suffering.

“As we mark two years since the outbreak of war in Sudan, the human toll is undeniable. The impact of this crisis extends far beyond the numbers—the suffering of the Sudanese people is immeasurable. While humanitarian organisations continue to provide life-saving support, the scale of need is overwhelming. Millions are without access to food, water, shelter, and medical care due to the lack of basic services. The UN has described this as the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, and it continues to worsen with each passing day. The international community cannot afford to look away. We must act urgently as part of our shared commitment to change.”

Against the odds, GOAL’s impactful humanitarian aid programme continues in Sudan. GOAL has been operating in Sudan since 1985 and today operates in North Darfur and South Kordofan with a team of 170+ and with support from Irish Aid, the European Union, UNICEF, Sudan Humanitarian Fund, as well as USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA). With this support, GOAL has supported over 600,000 individuals in Sudan in 2024. 

As part of GOAL’s current humanitarian aid programme, it is providing lifesaving support to 72 Health Facilities across North Darfur and South Kordofan, including the following aid programmes: 

Nutrition

• Screening for malnutrition using mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) measurements in South Kordofan and North Darfur, targeting five catchment areas in South Kordofan and two areas in North Darfur, referring severely malnourished children to GOAL-supported nutrition treatment centres.
• Providing mother-to-mother support training targeting 14 Community Nutrition Volunteers (CNVs) in South Kordofan.
• Delivering essential health and nutrition services to IDPs from over 21 rural villages in El Dor, North Darfur.
• Providing vegetable seeds to 3000 households in 11 locations to promote kitchen gardening and additional food sources for dietary diversity.

Health

• Providing medical assistance and supplies, including cholera immunisation efforts through our medical response units in South Kordofan.
•  GOAL health and nutrition teams conducting supervision of 10 clinics and nutrition centres, providing on-the-job training and discussions with community leaders to receive feedback on services, current challenges and needs due to security context and IDPs.
• Constructing 50 emergency latrines in camps for IDPs in the Abujibiha locality in South Kordofan.
• Distributing Hygiene and Dignity Kits to 400 households in the Gadeer locality of South Kordofan.
• Response to food-insecure newly displaced persons through food fairs using voucher modality.

Speaking to GOAL’s on-the-ground response, GOAL’s Country Director for Sudan, Sanjida Tawhid, shares,

“Despite the overwhelming challenges posed by the ongoing conflict, GOAL remains steadfast in our commitment to supporting those most in need. For over 40 years, GOAL has been on the frontlines in Sudan, providing life-saving assistance to displaced communities, and we continue to do so. Our teams are delivering critical support, including food aid, clean water, healthcare services, and gender-based violence assistance. We are also working to prevent the spread of cholera, measles and other diseases, ensuring that vulnerable populations receive the care they need. As the crisis continues, GOAL will persist in delivering urgent humanitarian aid and advocating for peace, as we stand with the people of Sudan in their time of greatest need.

Furthermore, as the country has become overwhelmed by war, the national health system is on the brink of collapse. In the country’s worst affected areas, less than a quarter of the health facilities remain operational, as health units experience targeted attacks and aid personnel are forced to flee, leaving millions without access to essential medical care and services. Amid flooding, water contamination, and infectious disease outbreaks, a deadly cholera epidemic has taken root, spreading across the country as millions of internally displaced people (IDPs) flee in search of refuge. According to Relief Web, there have been over 53,735 recorded cases of cholera since its outbreak in August of 2024, claiming the lives of 1,430 people to date as the disease spreads into Sudan’s White Nile state.

Women and children are disproportionately bearing the brunt of the crisis. Since the beginning of 2025, 3.7 million children under the age of five, along with pregnant and breastfeeding women, urgently require treatment for acute malnutrition. Gender-based violence (GBV) is also on the rise, exacerbated by the conflict and further fuelling the suffering of affected communities. 3.2 million people are thought to be affected by escalated instances of sexual and domestic violence since the outbreak of conflict. 

At the same time, reports of war crimes such as kidnappings, robberies, summary killings, and sexual violence as a weapon of war are unfolding across the country. Yet, with limited media coverage afforded to these crises, these atrocities remain largely unseen by the world, depriving the Sudanese people of the global attention and support that they so urgently need.