Sudan

Summary of Needs

Sudan’s severe acute food insecurity is primarily driven by escalating conflict and massive displacements, which cause economic, social, physiological, and psychological stresses. These disruptions are compounded by a macroeconomic crisis characterized by high inflation, currency depreciation, reduced agricultural output, rising food prices and input costs. Climatic shocks, including droughts, flooding, pest infestation, and animal diseases, worsen the situation.

As a result, 25.6 million people (55 per cent of the population) are acutely food insecure, with a breakdown of 755,975 people (2 per cent) in Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Phase 5 (Catastrophe), 8.5 million people (18 per cent) in IPC 4 (Emergency), and 16.3 million people (35 per cent) in IPC 3 (Crisis)¹. The situation will likely deteriorate further due to the restricted access to Greater Darfur and Greater Kordofan regions, as well as Khartoum, Aj Jazirah and Sennar states. Conflicts in once agriculturally productive states like Aj Jazirah and Sennar severely impact local food production, and similar trends in White Nile and Blue Nile states may hinder agricultural production.

Additionally, states like Gedaref, Kassala, Red Sea, River Nile, and Northern, which host significant numbers of displaced people, are facing heightened food insecurity. All of Sudan’s 18 states are now affected, with the conflict disrupting trade flows, supply chains, and agricultural activities, reducing production and raising prices. If the conflict persists, food insecurity will worsen in the short and long term.

Response Strategy

The FSL Cluster’s primary objective is to address acute food insecurity and livelihood challenges among the most vulnerable populations. The cluster provides life-saving emergency food assistance and agricultural livelihood support based on the Central Emergency Response Fund (CARF) life-saving criteria tailored to Sudan’s context. The FSL Cluster’s people in need (PiN) is estimated at 25.1 million, based on the IPC Phase 3+ population (excluding refugees). Out of the PiN, the cluster aims to reach 16.5 million people. Of these, around 8.4 million people will receive emergency food assistance, and around 15.1 million will benefit from emergency agricultural livelihood support. The cluster will also consider the convergence between these two components to address extremely vulnerable populations' critical food security needs. These targets will be achieved through coordinated interventions by FSL cluster partners, which include Cluster Lead Agencies (CLAs), UN agencies, INGOs, NNGOs, and civil society organizations (CSOs), and various non-state actors working at local level, significantly contributing to the cluster’s response plan. Under the primary objective stated above, the FSL Cluster response will be implemented through provision of emergency food assistance; supporting emergency agricultural livelihoods; facilitating food security cluster coordination at national, humanitarian hubs and sub-national levels; plus conducting and consolidation of findings from emergency food security and livelihood assessments for improved evidence-based decision making and actions.

Emergency food assistance will include general food distribution through various modalities: in-kind modality and cash/voucher modality (full ration /100 per cent/, reduced ration /70 per cent/, and half-ration /50 per cent), community-led assistance [hot meals distribution], and food assistance for assets modality (cash/voucher 50 per cent). The emergency agricultural livelihoods response will support agriculture, livestock, fisheries, veterinary services, and social protection initiatives, prioritizing populations facing severe acute food insecurity — residents, newly displaced people, and protracted IDPs. Vulnerable farmers, agro-pastoralists, pastoralists, and fisherfolk will receive scaled-up emergency livelihood assistance through in-kind and cash/voucher-based transfer modalities.

The Cluster’s key advocacy messages will highlight the prevailing extreme acute food insecurity and livelihood impoverishment situation of a massive, unprecedented scale and scope. Strong advocacy efforts will be exerted in presenting and promoting the progress of the Cluster’s response reach portfolio and the multiple challenges being encountered in securing access to hard-to-reach areas and obtaining funding.

FSL Cluster partners will regularly collect, analyze, and disseminate updated reliable, accurate, and credible evidence and data on acute food insecurity to inform decision-makers and practitioners alike. The food insecurity information products shall highlight the significant challenges faced, including access constraints, supply chain and market disruptions, high input costs and production reductions, communication issues, and banking problems that hinder the cluster’s in-kind and cash-based response interventions.

Overall, an enhanced and sustained FSL response shall be accelerated to either halt or possibly reduce the prevailing extreme and catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity by facilitating evidence-based and coordinated cluster response at scale, mobilizing required funding resources, advocating for improved access and resources, and promoting the use of creative, innovative, flexible and nimble response approaches. Multi-sectoral convergence among core clusters (FSL, Nutrition, WASH, Health and MPCA) will be strengthened. Most importantly, protection and other cross-cutting issues will be well-mainstreamed in the response interventions.

Targeting and Prioritization

The FSL Cluster’s geographic population and target priorities consider the severity of vulnerabilities of affected populations. The Cluster targets the population in IPC Phase 3+ and above, focusing on IPC Phase 5 and IPC Phase 4 as top priorities. Given the humanitarian imperative, substantial IPC Phase 3 populations are also considered in the targets, given that many in non-reached areas could shift into a more food insecure phase. For instance, in hard-to-reach areas such as the five Darfur states, three Kordofan states, Khartoum, Al Jazirah and Sennar states, where access is severely limited, the situation of more IPC phase 3 population could further deteriorate. In those relatively accessible states of Gedaref, Kassala, Red Sea, River Nile, Northern, Blue Nile, and White Nile, which have seen an influx of IDPs, a reasonable number of IPC Phase 3 populations will also be expected to further slide to the worse phase and hence considered in the response.

Regarding the population categories, the FSL Cluster response will prioritize the most vulnerable groups, including IDPs, host communities, and non-hosting communities in priority order. The targeting pays special attention to persons with disabilities, women (including female heads of households and pregnant and breastfeeding women), children (including child heads of households), the elderly, and others facing similar heightened risks. For livelihood support, vulnerable farmers, agro-pastoralists, pastoralists, and fisherfolks will be key targets. Household-level targeting will identify the most vulnerable individuals through assessments and analysis of food security and socio-economic conditions. The FSL Cluster operates across all 18 states with a significant presence of international and national partners on the ground.

Cost of Response

The FSL Cluster seeks $1.5 billion to assist 16.5 million people in 2025.