PORT SUDAN, Sudan: An estimated 3.2 million children under the age of five are expected to face acute malnutrition this year in war-torn Sudan, according to the United Nations Children鈥檚 Fund (UNICEF).
鈥淥f this number, around 772,000 children are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition,鈥� Eva Hinds, UNICEF Sudan鈥檚 Head of Advocacy and Communication, told AFP late on Thursday.
Famine has already gripped five areas across Sudan, according to a report last month by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a UN-backed assessment.
Sudan has endured 20 months of war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), killing tens of thousands and, according to the United Nations, uprooting 12 million in the world鈥檚 largest displacement crisis.
Confirming to AFP that 3.2 million children are currently expected to face acute malnutrition, Hinds said 鈥渢he number of severely malnourished children increased from an estimated 730,000 in 2024 to over 770,000 in 2025.鈥�
The IPC expects famine to expand to five more parts of Sudan鈥檚 western Darfur region by May 鈥� a vast area that has seen some of the conflict鈥檚 worst violence. A further 17 areas in western and central Sudan are also at risk of famine, it said.
鈥淲ithout immediate, unhindered humanitarian access facilitating a significant scale-up of a multisectoral response, malnutrition is likely to increase in these areas,鈥� Hinds warned.
Sudan鈥檚 army-aligned government strongly rejected the IPC findings, while aid agencies complain that access is blocked by bureaucratic hurdles and ongoing violence.
In October, experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council accused both sides of using 鈥渟tarvation tactics.鈥�
On Tuesday the United States determined that the RSF had 鈥渃ommitted genocide鈥� and imposed sanctions on the paramilitary group鈥檚 leader.
Across the country, more than 24.6 million people 鈥� around half the population 鈥� face 鈥渉igh levels of acute food insecurity,鈥� according to IPC, which said: 鈥淥nly a ceasefire can reduce the risk of famine spreading further.鈥�