A brief relief to thousands amid one of the world’s worst hunger crises

More than three years into Sudan’s devastating conflict between rival factions, violence, displacement and hunger continue to reshape the lives of millions across the country. The fighting, which erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, has killed and injured thousands and displaced millions. Although the intensity of the fighting varies from one region to another, its humanitarian consequences are felt throughout the country.

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One of the world’s worst hunger crises

More than 30 million people – nearly two-thirds of the country’s population – are now in need of humanitarian and protection assistance.

The war has deepened problems that were already placing pressure on Sudanese families. Poverty, hunger, and economic instability have worsened as fighting disrupted markets, supply chains, agricultural production, and livelihoods. Severe weather, including floods and droughts, has compounded the crisis. By August 2024, parts of the country began to experience famine-level food insecurity. Today, around 28.9 million people, more than half of Sudan’s population, are facing acute food insecurity, including 10 million facing severe hunger.

For people who need help, accessing assistance has become another challenge. Bureaucratic restrictions and attacks on humanitarian personnel, facilities, and supplies have severely limited humanitarian access, making it harder for aid organizations to reach some of the communities most affected by the war.

Reports indicate that millions of people in heavily conflict-affected areas are surviving on just one meal a day or less. In some cases, families have been forced to resort to eating leaves and animal feed as conflict, displacement, and economic crises continue to drive hunger to dangerous levels, especially among displaced families.

A long way from home

By the end of 2024, more than 11.8 million people had been forcibly displaced since the beginning of the war, including about 9.3 million people displaced within Sudan and around 2.5 million refugees and asylum seekers who had fled across its borders, mainly to Chad, Egypt, and South Sudan. Sudan itself was also hosting more than 250,000 refugees, primarily from South Sudan and Ethiopia.

Sulafa* is a mother of eight children from Khartoum. When the fighting reached her area, she fled with her children, leaving her husband behind. Like many other Sudanese families, they made their way to Port Sudan, a coastal city in eastern Sudan that became a refuge for people fleeing the war. Sulafa had no money to rent a home and nowhere else to go, so she shared a small shelter with relatives. Finding work was difficult. Across the country, job opportunities were scarce, so Sulafa took whatever work she could find. It was still not enough to provide for her children. Sulafa’s life became even more difficult after she received news of her husband’s death in the war in Khartoum. She was left alone, away from her home, to care for eight children.

“Sometimes we only had one meal a day, or just a light snack. But sometimes we went without food,” Sulafa said.

Lamis* is also a widow, a mother to four children. She fled Wad Madani, a city in southeast-central Sudan, with her children after militias entered the area. The family moved to a town in eastern Sudan to escape the danger. She later returned with her children to Wad Madani after the city was liberated, only to find themselves facing severe hardship.

A brief relief when most needed

In this complex environment, MERATH has been supporting local churches in Sudan to provide emergency food assistance to families facing some of the greatest needs. In four different locations, church volunteers worked with community leaders and, where possible, coordinated with other relief organizations to avoid duplication. For families who could not safely travel to distribution points, volunteers delivered food to their homes.

Since early 2025, MERATH’s partner churches have distributed food parcels to 2,000 households, reaching over 11,000 individuals. For families who had lost homes, jobs and sources of income, such assistance offered a brief respite amid extremely harsh conditions.

Sulafa and Lamis’ families benefited from the project, which eased their burden in an otherwise difficult season of their lives. Sulafa shared:

“It helped us a lot in providing food for my children. I thank all the people who thought of helping us. May God bless them and reward them abundantly.”

As for Lamis, she received food assistance during Ramadan, at a time she was worried about how she would prepare iftar for her children. Thankfully, the parcel contained the basic food she needed to prepare their usual fast-breaking evening meal. Despite her own dire need, Lamis even shared the contents of her parcel with her neighbors so they could eat too.

What touched Lamis most was that the church had provided this assistance despite their different faiths. She said:

“I’m so grateful to the church and all those who organized and supported this blessed act. This support filled a real gap during a time of great need and served as a message of hope and mercy for my family.”

Pastor Philemon, the pastor of a Baptist church in Khartoum and one of MERATH’s partners in Sudan, emphasizes how desperately needed and timely the distributions were:

“It truly made a big difference in people’s lives. Some people say the assistance arrived at a time when they had nothing and didn’t know what they would eat the next day.”

 

A holistic witness to Christ’s love for all

According to Pastor Philemon, the project accomplished much more than simply responding to humanitarian needs:

“Besides the immediate humanitarian impact, the food assistance project strengthened the church’s presence and reputation within the community. It opened new avenues to reach out to families in need with whom we had no prior connection, and to build relationships with them based on love and trust. The project also encouraged some families to seek prayer and counsel and opened the way for pastoral follow-up and discipleship, allowing us to provide a holistic witness to Christ’s love by meeting basic needs alongside spiritual ones when requested.”

Today, huge needs remain. Many Sudanese people are still displaced, internally or into neighboring countries. Some have been displaced for three years now. Although safety has returned in certain areas, other locations remain very dangerous. The war has not stopped and people are still scared, while inflation is skyrocketing and prices continue to change from month to month.

Many Christians also left Sudan because of the war and might not return, which represents a long-term challenge for the country. But the Church has remained present and desires to continue to be. Our continuous support can help them do just that, and even more.