Sudan’s Humanitarian Crisis: The Collapse of Food, Water, and Energy Security

This post is the first in a two-part series on Sudan’s overlapping food, water, and energy crises. 

The ongoing conflict in Sudan has been devastating, with no end in sight. The two warring parties—the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)—desperate to gain the upper hand, have bombed, looted, raped, and destroyed huge swathes of the country, including, of course, the capital Khartoum.  

The conflict, compounded by food insecurity and famine, has led to a massive displacement crisis. As of March 2025, 11.3 million people were internally displaced, more than half of them children, with 18% living in camps. Sudan also hosts 841,000 refugees that had fled from conflicts in neighboring countries of South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and the Central African Republic.  

Famine declared in several parts of the country 

As people continue to be forced out of their homes to other parts of Sudan or across the borders of neighboring countries, often displaced multiple times, they face mounting food and water insecurity. Famine has been declared in several regions of the country, and documentation of the conflict paints a horrific picture of slow, painful deaths as people waste away due to starvation and disease. 

A major contributor to the famine is the collapse of food production due to the conflict. Millions of farmers have fled, abandoning their fields. Those that remain are often unable to procure seeds, fertilizers, fuel and machinery when needed. Food supply and distribution systems have also broken down, as markets have either been looted, destroyed, or ceased to function due to the breakdown of transportation networks, processing facilities, and import channels. As food prices mount and hunger grows, particularly fertile areas of the country have attracted disproportionate violence. Notably, the RSF seized Al Jazirah state early in the war, establishing control of one of the world’s biggest irrigation schemes, and the producer of half of Sudan’s wheat.  

A less-discussed dimension of the famine, but arguably more important, is how it is being actively used as a weapon of war. In Sudan, both the RSF and SAF exert control over food systems to punish civilians, finance their operations, and coerce people into joining their side of the conflict. They restrict the movement of food in attempts to “starve out” areas controlled by the opposing side. In several cases, relief food provided by humanitarian organizations has been co-opted and sold for exorbitant prices.  

Breakdown of water and irrigation infrastructure 

Water insecurity tends to accompany food insecurity. This has been the case in Sudan. Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) systems, already under-functioning before the war, are now barely operational. In June 2025, the RSF destroyed major power stations in Khartoum, shutting down water treatment plants and cutting off electricity. Even when water is available, the prohibitively high cost of diesel needed to pump water means that few people have access to it. After the SAF recaptured the capital in late March, returnees to Khartoum were forced to rely on water directly from the Nile. This dependence on the river, contaminated with war debris, untreated sewage, toxic waste, and corpses, led to a cholera epidemic. The onset of the rainy season in July-August will undoubtedly accelerate the spread of water-borne diseases, worsening malnutrition and food security outcomes.  

Dams are essential for providing drinking water, ensuring sufficient irrigation, and limiting the impact of floods and droughts, particularly in the diverse agro-climate characteristic of Sudan. Arbaat Dam, north of Port Sudan, Sudan, collapsed on 24 August 2024, when Sudan recorded the heaviest rainfall in 40 years. The Arbaat Dam was the primary freshwater supply for Port Sudan, which became the acting capital of Sudan after the beginning of fighting. Its collapse resulted in flooding that destroyed at least twenty villages.

Figure 2. Destruction of bridge due to the collapse of the Arbaat dam.  

Irrigated agriculture contributes the majority of the country’s crop production. In the course of the conflict, irrigation systems have been significantly damaged, particularly in Al Jazirah state (termed Sudan’s “breadbasket”). A looming fear is destruction of the Jebel Aulia Dam, north of Khartoum, due to the crossfire between the warring parties. In addition to containing flood waters, it generates hydropower and channels water for irrigation. A part of the structure had already been damaged due to the conflict, and dam operators have since fled. This year’s rainy season may spell its collapse as well.  

Lack of energy accelerates deforestation 

Another aspect of the war that will have long-term negative repercussions, even after the conflict ends, is widespread deforestation. With cooking gas scarce or up to 12 times pre-war prices, families now rely entirely on charcoal and firewood to prepare food. This has increased the demand for firewood and charcoal, pushing up their price and driving deforestation by people desperate to earn some money. In Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, for example, the price of a sack of charcoal has increased fivefold. The increased pressure on local forest ecosystems has contributed to increased tension between refugee and host communities, especially in areas where populations have grown manifold.  

The collapse of food, water, and energy systems in Sudan is beyond a humanitarian crisis. It is a warning about the long-term consequences of conflict and the acute challenges the country must tackle when it begins to rebuild. 

But the story doesn’t end here. In the second part of this series, we explore what is being done to respond to the crisis; how local actors, international agencies, and researchers are finding new ways to deliver aid, build resilience, and plan for recovery. 

Author: Radhika Singh, Alliance of Bioversity International & CIAT. Photo Credit: Musnany on Unsplash