More than 30 governments warn Sudan faces a risk of famine — 19.5 million people face acute food insecurity
The United Kingdom, the United States, the European Commission and more than 30 partner governments warned on 23 October 2026 that Sudan faces a risk of famine in the coming months, in a joint statement first published that day and released by the US State Department on 26 October. An estimated 19.5 million people — 41% of Sudan's population — face high levels of acute food insecurity, including 5 million at emergency levels, the statement said, citing the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. Without a change of course, the number of children with severe acute malnutrition could exceed the projected 825,000, and the number of food-insecure areas, first assessed at 14, is expected to double. The governments urged Sudan's warring parties to lift all impediments on humanitarian aid, including by allowing air access into Darfur.
Key points
- More than 30 governments and the European Commission warned on 23 October that Sudan faces a risk of famine in the coming months.
- 19.5 million people — 41% of the population — face high levels of acute food insecurity, including 5 million at emergency levels, the statement says.
- Child severe acute malnutrition could exceed the projected 825,000, and the 14 food-insecure areas are expected to double.
- The governments urge the warring parties to lift aid impediments, including air access into Darfur, and call for funding to be scaled up.
What happened
Sudan's war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, running since April 2023, has displaced millions and broken the systems that feed the country. The joint statement is a warning about risk, not a declaration that famine has been found in new areas: the IPC's warning it cites is that, unchecked, the areas facing serious food insecurity will double and emergency hunger will tip towards famine.
Claim by claim
Why this label: The statement's own text, read in full on Spain's foreign ministry site and published in the same terms by the UK government and France's diplomatie service; the signatory list is the statement's.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The figures are the statement's own, attributed to it throughout; they are estimates it cites from the IPC, not a Vozia count.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The statement's own diagnosis and calls, in its own words, read in full; the obstruction wording is the signatories' position, carried as such.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
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Why this label: The BBC's report of the same warning, read in the checking for this story; the 33 million and the 40% are the WHO's and the aid sector's figures as the BBC carried them, kept separate from the statement's own 19.5 million, which counts food insecurity, not all need.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- The statement was made, by the signatories listed on it, with the figures and calls set out here.
- More than 33 million people are in need of assistance on WHO figures reported by the BBC, and the 2026 humanitarian plan was 40% funded as of September.
What we don't know yet
- Whether the warring parties lift the impediments — no response from the army or the RSF was in the reporting read.
- Whether famine is formally declared in any new area — the statement warns of risk; it is not a famine declaration.
- How much new funding the call produces.
Why it matters
Nineteen and a half million hungry people is the largest food crisis in the world by the statement's own figures, and its signatories put the remedy first in the parties' hands — open the routes, including by air into Darfur — because money cannot move food through closed roads.
Background
War begins between Sudan's army and the Rapid Support Forces; displacement and hunger grow with the fighting.
The UK, the European Commission and more than 30 partners issue the joint statement on famine risk; the US State Department releases the text on 26 October.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Published. Basis: the joint statement's own text, read in full, with the BBC's report of the wider need and funding figures.