Twenty months into the conflict, Sudan continues to slide into a widening Famine crisis characterized by widespread starvation and a significant surge in acute malnutrition. The IPC Famine Review Committee (FRC) has detected Famine in at least five areas and projects that five additional areas will face Famine between December 2024 and May 2025. Furthermore, there is a risk of Famine in seventeen additional areas. Half of the population (24.6 million people) is facing high levels of acute food insecurity. This marks an unprecedented deepening and widening of the food and nutrition crisis, driven by the devastating conflict, which has triggered unprecedented mass displacement, a collapsing economy, the breakdown of essential social services, and severe societal disruptions, and poor humanitarian access. 

According to the FRC, Famine (IPC Phase 5) detected in August 2024 in Zamzam camp, North Darfur state, has persisted and expanded to Al Salam and Abu shouk camps and the Western Nuba Mountains for the period October to November 2024. Between December 2024 and May 2025, Famine is projected to expand in North Darfur localities including Um Kadadah, Melit, El Fasher, At Tawisha, and Al Lait. There is a risk of Famine in the Central Nuba Mountains (including in Delami, Western Kadugli, Um Durein, and Al Buram localities), and in areas likely to experience high influxes of IDPs in North and South Darfur. These include Tawila, Nyala Janoub, Nyala Shimal, Beliel, Shattaya, As Sunta, Buram, and Kas in South Darfur, as well as Medani Al Kubra and Sharg Al Jazirah in Al Jazirah State, Mayo and Alingaz in Jebel – Awilia, Khartoum state and Al Firdous in East Darfur state. 

This latest IPC analysis that draws from the TWG analysis and the FRC findings provides an update of the previous projection published in June 2024 for the period October 2024 to February 2025. It shows that food insecurity is at worse levels than foreseen. Between December and May, 24.6 million people face high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above). These results mark a stark increase of 3.5 million people compared to the number originally projected and correspond to over half of the population of Sudan. This includes about 15.9 million people (33 percent) classified in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis), 8.1 million people (17 percent) in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency), and at least 638,000 people (1 percent) in IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe). 

However, these findings show a slight improvement in terms of magnitude of acute food insecurity compared to the lean season (June - September 2024). In fact, above average rainfall has sustained agriculture activities where security conditions allowed farmers to access fields and agricultural inputs, thereby alleviating food insecurity. As a result, the number of people in IPC Phase 3 or above during the lean season (estimated at 25.6 million) has decreased to 24.6 million in the harvest season (December – May). Nonetheless, not all populations benefited equally. In areas of high conflict intensity, the hostilities severely disrupted farming activities, resulting in farmers abandoning their crops, looting, and stock destruction. Displaced households, especially those living in settlements and public buildings, are unlikely to benefit significantly from the harvest. 

• End hostilities: Only a ceasefire can reduce the risk of Famine spreading further and contain the already high levels of acute food insecurity.
• Restore safe and sustained humanitarian access: Priority must be placed on unhindered access routes into, and within, Greater Darfur and Greater Kordofan states. This includes: unhindered cross-border access through all the Chad-Sudan and South Sudan-Sudan border crossings; creating a safe airspace for the resumption of operations through the airports of El Fasher, Nyala and Kadugli; and ensuring a safe route-space for commercial and humanitarian convoys towards the most critical IDP/refugee settlements, and urban centres in Greater Darfur and Greater Kordofan states. Access must also be prioritized in other areas for which - at the moment - inadequate information exists to accurately assess whether famine is prevailing or not.  
• Provide immediate multi-sectoral humanitarian assistance: Priority must be placed on (i) areas and populations already in Famine, (ii) where Famine is projected to occur in the next five months, and (iii) where a risk of Famine exists. Essential humanitarian supplies, including food or cash, water, and basic services must be delivered to residents, newly displaced and protracted IDPs and refugees. 
• Scale-up nutrition interventions: Ensure treatment and prevention of acute malnutrition in emergency and recovery situations through integrated package of nutrition specific and nutrition sensitive activities to improve immediate food security and nutritional status.
• Restore productive systems and support livelihoods: Provide essential life-sustaining agricultural livelihood restoring and safeguarding support packages to vulnerable households according to the seasonal calendar of interventions. 
• Scale-up data collection efforts: Conduct food security and nutrition surveys in unassessed areas of greatest concern, including greater Khartoum and Al Jazirah; and areas already identified in Famine or at risk of Famine.