A year of war between rival military factions in Sudan has pushed parts of the country to the brink of famine, and left 25 million people — about half the population — in need of humanitarian aid, according to aid agencies.

Sudan was already burdened with rising hunger, a collapsing health system and widespread poverty before the conflict between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke out in April 2023. 

Now, some 17.7m of Sudan’s 49 million people are facing what experts term acute food insecurity, a sharp increase from last year, according to a projection covering the five months to February by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a globally recognized hunger monitor. That means that their lives or livelihoods are in immediate danger because they don’t have enough food.