World Food Day 2026: Sudan’s Hunger Crisis Requires Political Action
Today, the world marks World Food Day, renewing the global commitment to ending hunger and building resilient food systems. Yet in 2026, Sudan stands at the centre of one of the world’s most devastating food crises. A country with vast arable land, water resources and the potential to be a major agricultural producer is instead facing widespread hunger and famine.
The war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which began in April 2023, has devastated Sudan’s food systems. Millions have been displaced from their homes and farms, agricultural production and trade have been disrupted, and food prices have surged as the currency has collapsed and supply chains have fractured. Conflict, displacement, economic collapse, disrupted agricultural seasons and climate shocks are pushing millions towards acute food insecurity.
This is not simply a crisis of food availability. It is a crisis of access, production and livelihoods. Farmers cannot safely cultivate their land; livestock owners have lost assets and grazing routes; markets and trade routes have been disrupted; and families have seen their purchasing power disappear. At the same time, humanitarian operations face severe funding shortfalls and access constraints, and in some cases are being deliberately targeted. The recent attack on a World Food Programme convoy in Dilling, South Kordofan, is a stark reminder that even life-saving aid is under threat.
Also, Experts are warning against a food crisis driven by the volatile convergence of climate change and armed conflict, heightening fears of an entirely failed rainy season. This year, Sudan has experienced severe delays and unprecedented deficits in seasonal rainfall, compounded by a critical drop in water levels across the Nile River and primary irrigation canals. As a result, vast expanses of fertile land have dried up, causing emerging crops to wither during their crucial early germination stages. This means strategic staple crops like sorghum and sesame are suffering extensive damage, with outright crop failure reported in essential production hubs, including the Nertiti region and the critical agricultural projects of Gedaref state.
In my consultations with Sudanese business leaders, it has become clear that hyperinflation has caused the prices of food and basic commodities to skyrocket. An increasing number of Sudanese families can no longer afford even the most basic meal. Vital community lifelines, such as local community kitchens and remittances from relatives abroad, are rapidly drying up. Compounding the crisis, severe funding shortfalls, coupled with delayed and poor rainfall, have undermined the current agricultural season.
The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and regional maritime trade disruptions in the Red Sea have severely delayed and reduced imports, driving up the cost of essential fuel, food, and fertilizers. This cascade of economic shocks has made farming increasingly unaffordable for Sudan’s farmers, threatening the nation's long-term food security.
Preventing starvation requires the protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, agricultural assets, markets and supply routes, as well as safe and sustained humanitarian access. Food must never be used as a weapon of war. The international community must press all parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law and work towards an immediate cessation of hostilities. A humanitarian truce should allow food and other life-saving assistance to reach communities in need.
But humanitarian assistance alone cannot solve Sudan’s food crisis. Sudan needs a political solution, one that creates the conditions for people to produce their own food, earn a living and begin rebuilding their economy.
The European Union is working on both fronts: advocating politically for the conditions that make recovery possible while investing directly in food security and resilience. These efforts are aimed not only at responding to hunger today, but also at protecting livelihoods, strengthening local food production, and building resilience against future shocks.
Through our humanitarian response, we are funding projects worth €30 million in Gedaref, Kassala, Red Sea and Northern State, providing critical assistance to people facing hunger and displacement.
At the same time, we are investing €165 million in food-security projects in Sudan, supporting sustainable livelihoods, local food production, agriculture and livestock value chains, climate-resilient farming, inclusive markets, and home-grown school feeding across Darfur, Blue Nile, White Nile, Sennar, Gedaref, Kassala, Red Sea, River Nile, Northern State, and North, South and West Kordofan. These projects aim not only to respond to hunger today, but to protect livelihoods, strengthen local food production and build resilience against future shocks.
The EU is also supporting the population through three complementary programmes worth 40 million, targeting 12 states across Sudan and addressing education,
Our political engagement complements these efforts towards recovery. We advocate for humanitarian access, protection of civilians and food systems, an end to the use of starvation as a weapon, and a political pathway towards peace and civilian governance. We work with Sudanese, European and international partners to keep food security at the centre of the response to the crisis.
Long term recovery will require investment in rural infrastructure, irrigation and water systems, modern agricultural technologies, quality seeds, livestock, storage and markets, alongside accessible finance for smallholder farmers. It will require the private sector to return, financial institutions to support productive investment, and Sudanese farmers, businesses and communities to lead recovery. The European Union stands ready to support all these efforts, standing hand-in-hand with the Sudanese people.
Sudan has the land, people and resources to feed itself and to become a major agricultural producer in the region. What it lacks is the peace and enabling environment to turn that potential into food on people's tables.
On World Food Day, let us be united in our message: Peace is not separate from food security. In Sudan, it is its prerequisite.
Written by:
Wolfram Vetter