UNICEF Sudan Humanitarian Situation Report No. 41, 31 March 2026
Country: Sudan Source: UN Children's Fund Please refer to the attached file. Highlights Health services remained a critical lifeline, with over 130,000 women and children accessing primary healthcare services across conflictโaffected areas in March, despite insecurity and access constraints, alongside targeted mobile and integrated outreach in hardโtoโreach locations to respond to ongoing cholera, measles, dengue and malaria risks. Nutrition needs continued to surge, with 24,500 children admitted for severe acute malnutrition treatment in March and over 825,000 children screened, reflecting expanded outreach and early detection efforts in highโpriority, famineโrisk localities. WASH interventions reached over 650,000 people with access to safe drinking water, helping reduce outbreak risks in overcrowded displacement settings through chlorination activities and rehabilitation of water systems, alongside continued sanitation and hygiene promotion in hotspot areas. Despite these efforts, the 2026 HAC appeal remains critically underfunded, with only 16 per cent of requirements met, severely constraining the scaleโup and continuity of lifeโsaving services and leaving millions of children at heightened risk. [...] SITUATION OVERVIEW AND HUMANITARIAN NEEDS Sudan continues to face severe humanitarian challenges driven by protracted conflict, shifting frontlines, mass displacement, and recurrent disease outbreaks. As control lines continue to shift across the countryโs 18 states, the dynamics of the operating environment remain volatile, with humanitarian needs intensifying in conflictโaffected areas, displacementโhosting locations, and returnee areas. While the overall internal displacement has decreased to approximately nine million people5 , largely due to voluntary returns, there is persistent and active conflict that continues to displace people in Darfur and Kordofans. Children remain disproportionately affected, accounting for 55 per cent of all internally displaced persons. At the same time, return movements have accelerated, with 3.8 million documented returnees6 , majority (84 per cent) returning from within Sudan and 16 per cent from abroad. Despite the overall reduction in the overall magnitude of displacement, recent hostilities continue to trigger new and localized waves of movements, particularly in Kordofan, Darfur and Blue Nile, regions that have endured decades of protracted conflict. From late October 2025 to March 2026, more than 135,000 people7 were newly displaced across the Kordofan states, while over 13,000 people8 were displaced in Blue Nile State in March alone, primarily from Kurmuk and Geissan localities. With hostilities ongoing, further displacement is expected. Renewed fighting along key routes to Dilling and Kadugli has reintroduced significant access constraints, severely limiting humanitarian reach and the delivery of life-saving assistance to affected populations. Protection risks are escalating as the conflict becomes increasingly characterised by indiscriminate attacks and damage to civilian infrastructure. Shelling and drone strikes continue to result in civilian casualties and the destruction of essential services, including health and education facilities. Recent attacks on El Daein Teaching Hospital in East Darfur9 and on a secondary school and primary healthcare centre in Shukairi village10 , White Nile State, underscore the growing severity of violations against civilian infrastructure and the erosion of safe access to basic services. Food insecurity in Sudan constitutes one of the most severe nutrition crises globally. Recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Acute Food Insecurity (IPC-AFI) analyses estimate that over 60 percent of the population (24.6โ28.9 million people) are experiencing acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3+), including more than 6 million in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and over 750,000 in Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) with famine conditions confirmed in Al Fasher (North Darfur) and Kadugli (South Kordofan). Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) highlights persistent risk of famine in greater Darfur and Kordofan, particularly in areas experiencing siege-like conditions. An estimated 3.6 million children under five11 are projected to be acutely malnourished in 2026, driven by protracted conflict, displacement, limited access 2 to humanitarian services, and the risk of famine in the most affected areas. The Federal Ministry of Health has declared the end of the cholera outbreak following six consecutive weeks without reported casesโan important milestone. However, public health risks remain high, with multiple disease outbreaksโincluding measles, diphtheria, dengue, hepatitis E and malariaโcontinuing to circulate widely. These risks are further exacerbated by overcrowding, poor water and sanitation conditions, and limited access to healthcare, particularly in displacement settings.