As Sudan’s civil war drags into its second year, a harrowing milestone emerged on March 1, 2025: the United Nations warned that 25 million people—half the country’s population—are now gripped by acute hunger, with 755,000 teetering on the edge of famine. The conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which erupted in April 2023, has unleashed a humanitarian disaster of staggering scale, displacing 10 million and shattering the nation’s food lifeline.

The crisis is most acute in Darfur and Khartoum, where relentless fighting has torched farmland, looted grain stores, and blocked aid routes. The UN’s World Food Programme reports that 18 million face “emergency levels” of hunger, with families reduced to eating dirt, leaves, or scraps to survive. In Zamzam camp near El Fasher, malnutrition clinics overflow with skeletal children, their parents recounting months without a proper meal. “We’ve lost everything—our homes, our crops, our hope,” one mother told aid workers, her voice a whisper of despair.

This isn’t just war’s collateral damage; it’s a man-made famine fueled by chaos. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) warns that without a ceasefire and massive aid escalation, deaths could soar past the 186,000 already estimated by researchers. Yet, international response lags—funding for Sudan’s $2.7 billion aid appeal sits at 40%, dwarfed by attention to conflicts elsewhere.

The war’s roots lie in a power struggle that spiraled from a 2021 coup, but its toll is now existential. Markets are empty, prices astronomical, and safe zones nonexistent. As Sudan fades from global headlines, its people face an invisible annihilation—one meal short of oblivion. The UN’s plea is clear: act now, or witness a tragedy history won’t forgive.