The World Food Programme (WFP) said on Monday that more than 4 million Sudanese refugees have fled to neighboring countries in search of food, shelter, and safety since the outbreak of war in April 2023, warning that they are at risk of further hunger and malnutrition.
The WFP’s warning comes amid a sharp decline in life-saving food assistance due to funding crises.
In a statement, the program noted that Sudanese refugee families often arrive traumatized, malnourished, and with little more than the clothes on their backs.
It stressed the urgent need to provide emergency aid to refugees fleeing to the seven neighboring countries where the WFP is active: the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, Uganda, and South Sudan.
The program also pointed out that it has expanded its support to include host communities that have generously welcomed Sudanese refugees, despite already struggling with food insecurity themselves.
The UN agency warned that without new resources, food assistance for Sudanese refugees in the Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Libya “could cease in the coming months.”
It also reported that many refugees in Uganda are surviving on less than 500 calories per day—less than a quarter of daily nutritional needs—while new waves of arrivals are pushing refugee support systems to the brink of collapse.
