UN appeal for $2.9 billion to help 20.4 million people in Sudan

17 May 2026 (PEN) UN agencies launched a humanitarian appeal for $2.9 billion to help 20.4 million people in Sudan, warning that the scale of humanitarian needs still exceeds available funding.

The United Nations said in a statement that the humanitarian response plan for Sudan was only 20% funded until April 2026, explaining that humanitarian workers aim to reach 4.8 million people per month, while only about 3.13 million people actually received assistance in February.

In a related context, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the World Food Programme warned of the continued risk of famine in Sudan, calling for urgent international action to prevent a large-scale humanitarian catastrophe.

The organizations confirmed that approximately 19.5 million people suffer from acute food insecurity, while more than 825,000 children face the risk of acute malnutrition during 2026.

The organizations considered that the continuation of the conflict, displacement, restrictions on access to humanitarian aid and lack of funding were factors that exacerbated the crisis.

Since April 2023, Sudan has been experiencing a severe humanitarian crisis due to the conflict, which has led to the displacement of millions and the collapse of basic services, while funding for the UN response plan has not exceeded 20% as of April 2026.