Norway joins 31 partners in warning of famine risk in Sudan

Norway and 31 international partners have issued a joint ministerial warning that Sudan faces a risk of famine in the coming months unless urgent action changes the current trajectory. The intervention sets out the scale of acute food insecurity, identifies obstacles to aid delivery and calls for practical measures by parties to the conflict and by international funders.

The warning is about a risk, rather than a declaration that famine has been confirmed. Its central message is that delay could cost lives. It places immediate emphasis on allowing aid to reach people safely, protecting humanitarian staff and supporting food production during the winter cropping season.

Scale of the food-security emergency

The joint statement puts the number of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity at an estimated 19.5 million, or 41% of Sudan’s population. Of that total, 5 million people are described as facing emergency levels of food insecurity.

It also warns that the number of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition could exceed a projected 825,000 without immediate action. The number of areas facing food insecurity, initially assessed at 14, is expected to double. These are estimates and projections set out in the joint warning, not a finding that famine has already been declared across the country.

Conflict is identified as the principal driver of the crisis. The statement links fighting to displacement, damage to critical infrastructure and disruption to healthcare, food production, supply chains and markets. It says the emergency is being made worse by obstruction of aid and by reduced rainfall and increased drought associated with El Niño across more than half of Sudan.

Access and protection

The signatories call for all impediments to humanitarian assistance to be lifted. Their requests include full, safe and rapid access through crossline and cross-border routes, as well as air access into Darfur. The stated purpose is to allow aid operations to be deployed quickly and to enable timely medical evacuations for humanitarian workers.

The statement also focuses on the administrative barriers that can slow relief. It calls for fewer delays over visas and customs clearance, longer validity for visas and travel permits, and the removal of additional permits, taxes and other requirements that hinder delivery. The aim is not simply to increase supplies on paper, but to make it possible for assistance to move to the places where it is needed.

Protection is another central part of the appeal. Parties to the conflict are urged to protect humanitarian personnel and to refrain from strikes on civilian infrastructure, including agriculture and food systems. The document also calls for stronger civil-military coordination to improve the safety of humanitarian workers and sites.

What the partners are asking for

The statement directs a separate appeal to the wider international community. It asks partners to increase humanitarian funding in response to growing needs and to help ensure that assistance reaches people in greatest need. Development and financial institutions are encouraged to adapt their existing programmes to the food-security situation and to focus on the areas under greatest pressure.

Support for the winter cropping season is singled out as part of the effort to avert famine. The signatories also call for locally led responses to be strengthened. That approach recognises that food assistance, agricultural activity and local delivery capacity all matter in a crisis shaped by conflict, displacement and restricted access.

A joint political call

The list of signatories brings together Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Canada, a range of European governments, the European Commission, Cyprus and Hungary. The breadth of that group gives the warning a collective diplomatic weight, while the document remains a call for action rather than a new aid fund, a ceasefire agreement or a binding timetable.

Its immediate significance lies in the specific steps it asks others to take: open humanitarian routes, protect civilians and aid workers, reduce bureaucratic blockages, direct more funding towards urgent needs and support food production. Whether those requests lead to improved access and a larger response will determine whether the warning is followed by practical change.