World Food Programme warns of worsening hunger in Sudan due to war and lack of funding

15 July 2026 (PEN) The acting executive director of the World Food Programme, Carl Skau, warned that Sudan is at risk of slipping back into even more severe levels of hunger due to war, aid funding cuts and rising farming costs.

In remarks to Reuters, Scau said that Sudan is experiencing the world's largest humanitarian crisis, with nearly 5 million people facing emergency or catastrophic levels of hunger, while more than 100,000 are still living in famine-like conditions.

He added that some 19.5 million Sudanese are facing high levels of acute food insecurity.

Skau expressed concern about the recent fighting around the city of El Obeid in North Kordofan, warning that it could face the same fate as El Fasher, with aid deliveries being obstructed.

He noted that the recent lull in violence could allow for an expansion of aid access from 100,000 to 250,000 people in the city.

The World Food Programme also expressed grave concern over renewed fighting in Darfur last week, which led to the closure of the Tina border crossing between Chad and the Darfur region.

Scau said the program reduced the number of beneficiaries of its aid in Sudan from 5 million to 3.5 million people, due to a funding gap of $646 million, following cuts from the United States, European countries and Britain.

He warned that rising diesel prices and fertilizer shortages, due to Gulf unrest and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, could exacerbate the crisis during the current planting season.

"We're going in the wrong direction here," Scau said. "In fact, we're going backwards."