Thursday, April 9, 2026 | Author – Alex Onyango | Nairobi-Kenya | Photo: Norwegian Refugee Council | GT-News |
NAIROBI, April 9, 2026 (The Golden Times) — Millions of people displaced by Sudan’s war are facing extreme hunger, repeated displacement, and the collapse of livelihoods, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
Three years after fighting erupted in April 2023, the crisis has uprooted more than nine million people inside Sudan and forced over 3.5 million to flee to neighbouring countries. Families have lost homes, possessions, and income, and are increasingly skipping meals.
“Families are exhausted, they are eating less, and they cannot cope much longer,” said NRC Secretary General Jan Egeland. “Local solidarity has carried this crisis, but it cannot carry it alone.”
NRC’s survey of over 1,200 households across Sudan, South Sudan, Chad, and Egypt found that more than 90 percent of families in South Sudan, 80 percent in Sudan, 75 percent in Egypt, and 70 percent in Chad are reducing or skipping meals. Nearly three-quarters of households in Sudan, South Sudan, and Chad have no income, while nine in ten female-headed households in Chad are without work.
Repeated displacement has left families “at their limit,” NRC said, with nearly four major losses reported on average, including homes, livelihoods, and personal belongings. Women and children are disproportionately affected: 20 percent of women in the region have no access to toilets, and children are being sent to work amid widespread hunger.
Neighbouring countries hosting refugees are under growing strain. Chad shelters more than 900,000 Sudanese refugees, South Sudan over 600,000, Egypt 1.5 million, and Libya more than 500,000. Many face precarious informal work, limited access to education, and lack legal documentation.
“What we are seeing is not just a humanitarian crisis, but a collapse of survival systems,” Egeland said. He urged the international community to scale up funding for life-saving aid and push for diplomatic solutions to end the violence.
Since April 2023, NRC has supported more than 5.5 million people across Sudan and neighbouring countries, but insecurity and funding constraints continue to hamper the response.
