Lead: A new Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report warns that famine-level malnutrition has spread to additional towns in Sudan’s western Darfur region as fighting continues across the country. On Thursday, paramilitary forces attacked a military hospital in Kouik, South Kordofan, killing 22 people including the hospital director and three medical staff and wounding eight. Since April 2023, battles between the Sudanese military and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have produced what the U.N. calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, leaving more than 14 million people displaced and official death estimates above 40,000. International donors have pledged large new funding, but aid groups say access and insecurity are preventing life-saving relief from reaching many of the worst-affected areas.
Key Takeaways
- The IPC reported famine-level acute malnutrition in Umm Baru and Kernoi, North Darfur; in Umm Baru nearly 53% of children 6–59 months are acutely malnourished, and Kernoi shows 32%—the famine threshold is 30% by weight-for-height.
- The Kouik attack in South Kordofan killed 22 people, including the hospital director and three medical staff, and wounded eight, according to the Sudan Doctors’ Network.
- The U.N. estimates more than 40,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in April 2023; aid groups warn actual fatalities may be much higher.
- Over 14 million people have been displaced internally or forced to flee, straining host communities and food supplies across Darfur and Kordofan.
- The IPC has now confirmed famine in seven areas since the war began and said access and data gaps currently prevent a full famine confirmation in Umm Baru and Kernoi.
- A new Sudan Humanitarian Fund effort announced with $700 million in initial commitments includes $500 million from the UAE and $200 million from the U.S., drawn from a $2 billion humanitarian basket.
Background
Sudan’s conflict began in April 2023 when a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF escalated into nationwide fighting. The RSF seized several major towns, including the regional capital el-Fasher in North Darfur after an extended siege. That takeover and subsequent waves of violence disrupted markets, agricultural production and humanitarian supply lines across Darfur, Kordofan and other regions.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is the internationally recognized system for classifying food insecurity and famine. Since the outbreak of hostilities, access problems, insecurity and the movement of displaced populations have complicated data collection and humanitarian response. Humanitarian actors, local authorities and international donors have repeatedly warned that without sustained ceasefires and secure access the risk of worsening hunger will spread beyond currently identified hotspots.
Main Event
On the day the IPC update was released, paramilitary fighters attacked a military hospital in Kouik, South Kordofan. The Sudan Doctors’ Network, a professional monitoring group, reported 22 fatalities, including the hospital’s director and three members of the medical staff, and eight wounded. The network said repeated assaults have left several hospitals inoperable in South Kordofan.
The IPC flagged two additional towns in Darfur—Umm Baru and Kernoi—where rates of acute malnutrition have reached levels consistent with famine thresholds for children. In Umm Baru, nearly 53% of children aged roughly 6 months to under 5 years meet the acute malnutrition criterion; Kernoi reports 32% of children in the same age band. The IPC did not confirm full famine because other required thresholds—mortality and sustained household food consumption collapse—could not be verified due to limited access.
Fighting patterns have shifted after the fall of el-Fasher. The Sudanese military recently reported gains in parts of Kordofan, including relief of sieges in Kadugli and Dilling, and the reopening of a key road between those towns. Nevertheless, hostilities continue: a drone strike this week in Kadugli hit a medical center and, according to the Sudan Doctors’ Network, killed 15 people including seven children.
Analysis & Implications
The new IPC findings indicate a widening geographic spread of catastrophic malnutrition driven by several interacting factors: active combat that blocks humanitarian access, market collapse that raises food prices, population displacements that overwhelm host communities, and the destruction or abandonment of farms and supply routes. Even where aid organizations can reach people, the scale of needs outstrips available resources and logistics capacity.
Confirmation of famine requires three concurrent criteria: extreme acute malnutrition in children (30% by weight-for-height), large-scale mortality (at least two deaths per 10,000 people per day), and evidence of household food consumption collapse. The IPC’s inability to confirm mortality and consumption collapse in Umm Baru and Kernoi reflects not that famine is absent, but that insecurity prevents the data gathering needed for formal classification—yet the malnutrition data alone point to imminent excess deaths if conditions persist.
Regionally, renewed famine in Darfur would have knock-on effects across Sudan and neighboring countries by fueling further displacement, straining cross-border humanitarian responses, and increasing the risk of regional instability. International pledges—$700 million announced to start a Sudan Humanitarian Fund—may help, but donors and agencies warn that funds without secure access and sustained ceasefires will not prevent escalating mortality.
Comparison & Data
| Location | Child acute malnutrition (%) | Famine threshold (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Umm Baru (North Darfur) | ~53% | 30% |
| Kernoi (North Darfur) | 32% | 30% |
| el-Fasher (previous confirmation) | Confirmed famine (Oct 2025) | N/A |
The table highlights how malnutrition in Umm Baru far exceeds the 30% weight-for-height benchmark used by the IPC for famine-level acute malnutrition in children, while Kernoi is just above that benchmark. Because mortality and food consumption indicators could not be verified, the IPC stopped short of full famine confirmation in these towns.
Reactions & Quotes
“This is not an isolated incident, but rather part of a series of attacks that have plagued South Kordofan,”
Sudan Doctors’ Network (medical monitoring group)
The Sudan Doctors’ Network used the Kouik attack to underscore a pattern of violence against health facilities that undermines care and endangers civilians. Humanitarian groups have documented repeated strikes and sieges that render hospitals nonfunctional and force medical staff to flee or shelter in place.
“An immediate and sustained ceasefire is critical to avert further destitution, starvation, and death in the affected parts of Sudan,”
IPC/Rome-based expert group
The IPC emphasized that without cessation of hostilities aid cannot reach people in greatest need and that famine conditions may spread rapidly. Donor pledges announced this week aim to bridge financing gaps, but the IPC and aid agencies stress that money alone is not enough without secure humanitarian corridors.
Unconfirmed
- Whether mortality rates in Umm Baru and Kernoi meet the IPC threshold for famine is unconfirmed due to restricted access and limited mortality surveillance.
- Exact civilian versus military composition of casualties in the Kouik hospital attack remains unclear pending independent verification.
- Full details of the $700 million Sudan Humanitarian Fund commitments (timing and disbursement mechanisms beyond UAE and U.S. pledges) are not yet published.
Bottom Line
The IPC’s new findings signal that famine conditions are not contained but may be expanding in Darfur, with child malnutrition in some towns already at catastrophic levels. Concurrent attacks on health facilities and ongoing sieges are compounding a crisis where displacement, market collapse and insecurity make humanitarian access—and therefore lifesaving aid—sporadic and insufficient.
Immediate priorities are clearer: secure and sustained ceasefires, safe humanitarian access, and rapid scaling of nutrition and food assistance targeted to the most affected communities. Even with recent donor pledges, the window to prevent escalating mortality is narrow; without a change in security dynamics, more towns could reach irreversible levels of hunger and excess death.