Two years into Sudan’s brutal civil war, over four million people have fled across borders—only to find that aid is evaporating before them. According to the UN World Food Programme (WFP), critical global funding shortfalls now threaten food assistance for Sudanese refugees in Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia, Central African Republic, Uganda, and Chad.
Hunger hitting child refugees hardest
Shaun Hughes, WFP’s Emergency Coordinator for the Sudan regional crisis, warns this is “a full‑blown regional crisis… millions who have fled Sudan depend wholly on support from WFP.” Without new funds, aid “will grind to a halt” within months. Already, food rations have shrunk drastically—Ugandan refugees subsist on fewer than 500 calories daily, less than one-quarter of minimum nutritional needs . In Chad, where nearly a quarter of refugees live, rations may be halved or ended soon.
The consequences for children are horrifying. WFP warns that Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) among young refugees in Uganda and South Sudan has breached emergency thresholds, and kids arrive at camps already severely malnourished.
Border towns buckle under pressure
In eastern Chad’s Adre, 235,000 Sudanese now share space with a town meant for 40,000 residents. Only 13 % of required refugee funding has been met, leading to severe shortages in food, water, shelter—and rising tensions over resources . A new camp at Tine, now hosting 46,000 refugees, operates with minimal aid.
Global cuts choke life-saving support
Funding from major donors has plunged. The U.S. and UK have slashed foreign aid—USAID programs and U.S. food grants were frozen or canceled earlier this year, causing widespread disruption in clinics and refugee kitchens . A recent WFP briefing said it urgently needs over $200 million just to sustain regional refugee support, with additional funds required for operations inside Sudan .
In Uganda, food rations for more than 1 million refugees have been suspended entirely—food costs have dropped below $8 per person per month—and overcrowded camps are pushing toward crisis . In Kenya’s Kakuma camp, rations have been slashed by half, leaving 300,000 refugees on severely inadequate monthly food kits.
Local resilience amid despair
Despite the growing crisis, refugee communities are acting to survive. Some refugees in Chad have set up informal businesses; in Uganda, women’s groups in camps teach tailoring, and students tend school gardens . These efforts offer brief hope, but they cannot substitute for international humanitarian lifelines.
The clock is ticking
With WFP warning aid could run dry in “within two months” without fresh donations, the crisis will escalate unless the global community acts fast. For a generation of children displaced by war, drought, and hunger, this isn’t a forecast—it’s oncoming.
What’s needed now
WFP and UN officials urge immediate contributions from governments, private donors, and NGOs to rebuild rations, reopen clinics, and restore supply chains. Shaun Hughes emphasizes that beyond cash, protecting humanitarian corridors and launching ceasefires is vital to allow food and medicine into camps and conflict zones .
The Sudan conflict may have started in Khartoum, but its deadly impacts now threaten the stability of six neighboring nations. Without urgent action, a refugee crisis will metastasize into a regional starvation catastrophe.
