Scarce Humanitarian Aid Replaces Agriculture in Darfur

Sudan Media Forum

El Fasher, 9 February 2026 (Jabraka News) –
Salha Abdelrahman (44) fled Zamzam Camp in North Darfur with her five sons and one daughter after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) overran the camp in April 2025 and her husband went missing during the events. She first moved to Tawila camp, beginning yet another chapter in a long displacement journey that started in 2004, when she fled from Deleij in Central Darfur to North Darfur.

In June, after a grueling journey marked by extortion along the route from Tawila to the border town of Tina on the Sudan–Chad frontier, Salha arrived exhausted. The journey cost her seven grams of gold she had saved “for old age” — days that now seem to have arrived — as she attempted to secure survival for her children and continue onward to Libya.

However, upon reaching the town of Kornoi, her funds were exhausted after paying transportation costs and extortion fees at armed “checkpoints” run by RSF fighters. Forced to abandon her plan, she redirected her journey toward refugee camps in Chad, hoping conditions might later allow her to continue toward safety.

“The aid we received at different displacement points barely keeps us alive and does not prevent hunger,” Salha says. “Even in Chad, assistance is scarce, and organizations cite supply shortages.”
Salha and her family are currently living in Touloum refugee camp in eastern Chad, waiting either for an opportunity to continue their journey or for peace to return so they can go home.

Famine Spreads

The crisis across the region is deepening. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has issued an urgent warning of a catastrophic deterioration, projecting that 33.7 million Sudanese — nearly two-thirds of the population — will require humanitarian assistance in 2026.

Famine conditions previously recorded in El Fasher and Kadugli have expanded, while areas such as Um Baru and Kornoi have crossed famine thresholds. In Um Baru, the malnutrition rate has reached 52.9%, nearly double the famine benchmark. Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces has displaced 9.6 million people, while more than 21 million are suffering from acute food insecurity.

Absence of Solutions

Relief operations face enormous challenges, including insecurity, restricted access, funding shortages, and limitations on humanitarian movement. The food crisis has been exacerbated by a collapse in agricultural production due to insecurity, land disputes, farm destruction, soaring prices, and sharply declining purchasing power.

Mohamed Abdelrahim (33), a Quran teacher from Um Baru, says the area is facing severe food shortages after the arrival of thousands of displaced families. “Access for humanitarian organizations has become extremely limited, and displaced people are living in desperate conditions,” he says.

Collapse of the Agricultural System

Dirar Adam Dirar, Executive Director of the Advocacy for Democracy Organization, said Sudan has been severely affected by the decision of U.S. President Donald Trump to suspend U.S. aid funding, which had played a critical role in humanitarian relief. He said the decision directly impacted displaced populations in Darfur, who are now unable to access any form of assistance.

Dirar explained that the World Food Programme is no longer able to reach all displaced people in Sudan, particularly in Darfur, which hosts the largest displaced population. Since the outbreak of war, the WFP has relied on national organizations to distribute food and cash assistance on its behalf, accusing many of these organizations of corruption and lack of transparency in managing and distributing aid.

He added that local organizations are unable to access all conflict areas in Darfur due to insecurity, especially given RSF control over most of the region, accompanied by widespread lawlessness that obstructs humanitarian work.

Dirar noted that all varieties of sorghum are normally produced in large quantities in North, Central, and West Darfur — regions considered the food basket for Darfur, Kordofan, and neighboring countries such as South Sudan, Chad, and the Central African Republic. However, agricultural production has collapsed dramatically since the war began, primarily due to insecurity, attacks by RSF-backed herders on farms, repeated killings and assaults, land seizures, and widespread fear among farmers. This has resulted in a massive food gap and unprecedented price increases, placing food beyond the reach of most citizens.

Calls for Action

Adam Rijal, spokesperson for the Coordination of Refugees and Displaced Persons in Darfur, said displacement camps are facing a comprehensive humanitarian collapse. Hundreds of thousands are living in inhumane conditions that deteriorate daily amid a dangerous decline in humanitarian assistance that fails to meet even minimum basic needs.

He stated that food shortages have reached deadly levels, particularly among children, women, and the elderly, due to a systematic famine, total economic collapse, and the unprecedented devaluation of the Sudanese pound. He confirmed recorded deaths from hunger and malnutrition, along with the widespread spread of diseases linked to food insecurity and lack of clean water.

Rijal stressed that residents are now entirely dependent on humanitarian aid, which has become increasingly rare, while humanitarian organizations and host communities are left alone to confront a worsening catastrophe without an international response proportional to the scale of the tragedy. The war, he said, has completely dismantled livelihoods and pushed millions to the brink of slow death.

He emphasized that urgent humanitarian priorities are clear and non-negotiable: food first, followed by clean drinking water, shelter — especially with winter approaching — healthcare, therapeutic nutrition, sanitation services, child protection, and psychosocial support for survivors of violence, hunger, and forced displacement.

Rijal held all parties to the conflict fully and directly responsible for the humanitarian disaster, calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and an end to the systematic targeting of civilians and displacement camps. He urged the United Nations, African Union, European Union, the Quad countries, and all influential states to move beyond expressions of concern to concrete action, including real pressure on conflict parties, the opening of safe and sustained humanitarian corridors, and the provision of adequate emergency funding for Darfur.

He warned that what is happening in Darfur constitutes grave violations of international humanitarian law and serious crimes that do not expire with time, calling for accountability for genocide and widespread abuses, an end to impunity, and cautioning that international silence and inaction make the global community a moral accomplice in this ongoing tragedy.

Complaints About Aid Distribution

In the same context, Tayeb Omar, a displaced person in Al-Neim camp in East Darfur State, said the camp is experiencing acute food shortages, despite the city of Al-Daein hosting large numbers of displaced people from El Fasher, South Darfur, Blue Nile, and Khartoum, as well as several refugee camps such as Karyo, Al-Nimr, Abu Jabra, and Adila.

He described the deprivation of East Darfur from humanitarian aid as discriminatory, noting that most assistance is directed toward North Darfur, particularly Tawila. He called for fair distribution based on humanitarian need rather than other considerations, pointing out that the camp’s population has more than tripled since the war began amid an almost total absence of employment opportunities.

An Ongoing Catastrophe

Since the outbreak of war in April 2023, Darfur has continued to sink into a devastating humanitarian crisis, extending beyond famine and displacement to include severe security deterioration and the systematic spread of looting and abductions. Will the region witness meaningful reform on the horizon, or will the crisis deepen further under the weight of continued conflict and international inaction — forcing refugees like Salha to pay the price for a lifetime?

• The Sudan Media Forum and its member organizations publish this report, prepared by Jabraka News, to reflect the escalating humanitarian crisis across Darfur’s cities, villages, and camps, marked by famine and the collapse of livelihoods. Contributors highlight the profound impact of the U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to halt U.S. aid funding, alongside restricted access faced by the World Food Programme and the inability of local organizations to reach conflict areas due to insecurity and RSF control over much of the region — conditions that are driving communities toward full-scale famine.