Sudan

Introduction

Sudan is facing the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world today.

Violent conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces since April 2023 has pushed needs to catastrophic levels.

The crisis is especially severe in Darfur, Kordofan and Blue Nile. Heavy weapons and drone attacks in crowded areas have had devastating effects on civilians and amount to war crimes. In and around El Fasher, mass killings and related atrocities in October 2025 have been identified as signs of a possible genocidal path.

Sudan is also the world’s largest displacement crisis. Over 9 million people are displaced inside the country and more than 4.4 million have fled to neighbouring countries. Tawila in North Darfur now hosts over 700,000 internally displaced people, making it the largest displacement camp in the world.

A woman in bright orange clothing and headscarf sits on the sandy ground in an informal desert camp, leaning against makeshift shelters made from patterned blankets and fabric, with cooking pots and plastic containers scattered nearby. Other displaced people, including a woman standing and a child in blue, move among similar low fabric shelters that stretch into the distance under a pale, cloudless sky. — Sudan is the world’s largest displacement crisis. Many have gathered in Tawila in North Darfur.
© European Union (photographer: Peter Biro)

Facts & figures

Through its humanitarian efforts, the EU provides vital support to those in need.

33.7 million people, 60% children in need of humanitarian assistance in 2026

over 7.2 million
newly internally displaced
over 4.4 million refugees in neighbouring countries
19.1 million people
projected to face acute food insecurity, including famine

EU humanitarian funding:

What are the needs?

Protection

The protection crisis in Sudan is of unprecedented scale, with widespread human rights violations including:

retaliatory attacks against civilians, based on alleged affiliation or ethnicity
staggering levels of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), with a significant proportion of survivors being children.
targeted attacks on healthcare facilities and energy infrastructure
recruitment and use of children by warring parties
ethnic cleansing of non-Arab communities in Darfur

Education, food and nutrition

about 8.4 million of 16.5 million school-aged children are out of school (UNICEF), since fighting erupted in April 2023, over 80–90% of schools nationwide have closed for varying durations
19.1 million people require urgent food assistance; 4.2 million children under 5 and pregnant or breastfeeding women are projected to be acutely malnourished in 2026, a 12% increase from 2025; acute malnutrition is expected to worsen further due to prolonged displacement, conflict, and the erosion of health, water and food systems

Healthcare and basic services

an estimated 65% of Sudan’s population lacks access to essential healthcare
WHO has confirmed 2,036 deaths and over 720 injuries from 213 attacks on healthcare facilities since the start of the conflict
severe shortages of food, clean water, medicine, cash, fuel, and limited communications and electricity are widespread

A seated person with a blurred face, wrapped in an orange and black shawl and a light headscarf, rests beside a bright blue, slightly cracked wall, with a pair of worn wooden crutches tied with string leaning against the open window frame above them. — In January 2026, the EU deployed an emergency medical team to Tawila in Darfur to provide medical care and assistive devices to people with disabilities.
© European Union (photographer: Peter Biro)

Displacement

The conflict has triggered the world’s largest displacement crisis:

over 9 million internally displaced
over 4.4 million refugees in neighbouring countries
approximately 9 million people in need are in Darfur alone, representing nearly 30% of the country’s humanitarian burden

After the fall of El Fasher, Darfur’s capital, many displaced people arrived in Tawila, now hosting over 700,000 internally displaced persons, making it the largest displacement camp in the world.

Humanitarian actors face access constraints due to security risks and bureaucratic impediments, slowing aid delivery and the rapid scale-up of the response.

How are we helping?

The EU provides lifesaving health and nutritional care, food assistance, cash support, water and sanitation services, shelter, protection and education for internally displaced persons, refugees and host communities. The main beneficiaries are the most vulnerable groups, with special attention given to the treatment of children under 5, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, suffering from acute malnutrition.

In 2026, the EU has allocated €162 million for lifesaving assistance to the most vulnerable in Sudan. This brings the overall 2026 EU contribution to the response—inside Sudan and in neighbouring countries affected by the crisis—to €276.3 million. Between 2023 (beginning of the armed conflict) and 2025, €698.5 million were allocated to the regional response to the Sudan crisis, out of which €436.3 million to Sudan itself.

Since 2023, the EU has also completed numerous Humanitarian Air Bridge flights, transporting essential supplies through Chad and Port Sudan to reach those in need.

A person with a blurred face stands wrapped in a patterned beige shawl beside a large tarpaulin shelter printed with the European Union flag and the words “European Union Humanitarian Aid”. Behind them stretches a row of makeshift tents and plastic-sheet shelters on dry, sandy ground under a clear blue sky, with sparse thorny bushes in the foreground, suggesting a refugee or displacement camp supported by EU humanitarian assistance. — Since 2013, the EU has provided over €1 billion in humanitarian aid to victims of the crisis in Sudan.
© European Union (photographer: Peter Biro)

Advocacy and access

The EU promotes compliance with international humanitarian law to ensure safe and unhindered access for humanitarian actors. It calls on all parties to immediately cease hostilities and ensure the safety of civilians, protect civilian infrastructure, guarantee safe passage from conflict zones, and provide humanitarian actors with immediate, unconditional, and unhindered access throughout Sudan. The EU also urges the facilitation of fast-tracked visa applications for UN and international NGO staff and the easing of customs restrictions to allow the rapid movement of personnel and delivery of essential supplies.