As the war enters its third year, UN humanitarians warn that immediate action is essential.

“This is a manmade crisis, driven by conflict – not by drought or floods or earthquakes and because of the obstruction of access to humanitarian assistance by parties to the conflict,” Shaun Hugues, Regional Emergency Coordinator at the UN World Food Programme (WFP), told journalists in New York, via video link from Nairobi.

The brutal war between rival militaries – the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – has already claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced over 12.4 million people, including more than 3.3 million as refugees in neighbouring countries.

“Tens of thousands more will die in Sudan during a third year of war unless we have the access and resources to reach those in need,” Mr. Hugues warned.

Half the population facing hunger

According to WFP, approximately half of Sudan’s population – 25 million people – is facing extreme levels of hunger, including about five million children and mothers suffering acute malnutrition.

The war, which started on 15 April 2023, has decimated critical infrastructure and led to widespread food shortages, making it the only place in the world currently classified as experiencing famine.

Famine has been confirmed in at least 10 locations in Sudan, including the Zamzam camp, home to 400,000 displaced persons (IDPs). Another 17 areas are at risk in the coming months.

“The scale of what is unfolding in Sudan threatens to dwarf much of what we have seen over previous decades,” Mr. Hugues said.

Women, girls at extreme risk

Women and girls face unprecedented vulnerability, with a sharp increase in maternal deaths and over 80 per cent of hospitals in conflict zones non-operational, leaving many without critical medical care.

Furthermore, cases of conflict-related sexual violence remain hugely underreported, UN Women said, warning that “evidence points to its systematic use as a weapon of war”.

“Women in Sudan are enduring the gravest forms of violence – particularly sexual violence,” said Anna Mutavati, UN Women Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.

“Their strength is extraordinary, but they cannot and should not be left to navigate this crisis alone.”

Fragile gains

Despite challenges, humanitarians are making progress. WFP assistance has tripled since mid-2024, as teams access new areas.

For its part, UN Women has assisted over 15,000 women in some of the worst affected areas, providing critical services and skills trainings. It has also helped set up safe spaces where women and girls can access shelter and protection.

“But these gains are fragile, and they are still just a fraction of the needs,” Mr. Hugues said.

Race against time

Along with fighting, physical access is a major challenge.

With rains approaching, many routes will become impassable, complicating aid delivery, he said.

“We need access. We need to be able to quickly move humanitarian assistance to where it is needed, including through front lines, across borders, within contested areas, and without lengthy bureaucratic processes.”

Mr. Hugues also highlighted the urgent need of funding, noting that WFP is already forced to reduce rations by up to half of what is needed in some places.

“Without funding, we are faced with the choice to either cut the number of people receiving assistance or to cut the amount of assistance they receive,” he said, noting that the agency needs an additional $650 million to continue its operations over the next six months.

It also needs $150 million for programmes assisting Sudanese refugees in neighbouring countries.

Sudan needs peace

Mr. Hugues stressed that above all, the Sudanese people need peace.

“We need a ceasefire and an end to hostilities so that they can begin to rebuild their lives,” he said.

Alongside, UN Women underscored the need to ensure women’s voices “are amplified at every peace negotiation table.”

“We urge all stakeholders – governments, donors, the international community – to act decisively. Sudanese women deserve not merely survival, but the dignity to rebuild and thrive,” Ms. Mutavati said.

OCHA said dozens of people, including at least eight children, were killed in Gaza City on Wednesday after an Israeli strike hit a residential building. Many others are still missing under the rubble. 

The agency stressed that civilians must be protected and should never be a target.

Medical evacuations and displacement orders

Israel’s total blockade on all commercial and lifesaving relief supplies remains in place, though the World Health Organization (WHO) pointed to some good news as 18 Gazans were medically evacuated for specialized treatment abroad. 

The patients along with nearly 30 companions headed for Norway, Malta, Luxembourg and Romania via the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza on Wednesday.

WHO noted, however, that some 12,500 patients in the enclave still need to be evacuated.

Access to healthcare facilities has been impacted by displacement orders issued by the Israeli military and the safety of healthcare workers remains at risk.

At least two medical professionals were reported killed as they left their health facility in Gaza City on Monday, according to OCHA.

Today, 12 out of 17 hospitals in the Gaza Strip are partially functional and there is only one field hospital. 

Blockade’s devastating impacts

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus highlighted the dire health conditions in a media briefing on Thursday.

He said the blockade, which took effect on 2 March, has prevented the entry of all food and medicine. Additionally, 75 per cent of UN missions within Gaza over the past week were denied or impeded.

“This blockade is leaving families hungry, malnourished, without clean water, shelter, and adequate healthcare, and increasing the risk of disease and death,” he said, speaking from WHO Headquarters in Geneva.

He noted that during the recent “precious ceasefire” WHO was able to re-supply the Gaza health system as well as its warehouses. Stocks are now dangerously low and will run out within two to four weeks.

Healthcare under attack

Tedros said that “180,000 doses of routine childhood vaccines – enough to fully protect 60,000 children under the age of two – have not been allowed to enter, leaving newborns and young children at risk.”

Furthermore, it is estimated that since the ceasefire collapsed, almost 1,500 people have been killed, including 500 children, and almost 400,000 people have been displaced again.

“The health system is only functioning partially and is overwhelmed. Meanwhile, healthcare continues to be attacked,” Tedros said, recalling that more than 400 humanitarians have been killed since the Gaza conflict began in October 2023, following the deadly Hamas terror attacks in southern Israel.

Looting on the rise

As supplies inside the Gaza Strip near exhaustion and the situation becomes increasingly dire, there has been an increase in looting in recent days, OCHA said.  

Several incidents were reported in Rafah, and Deir Al-Balah, and Al Zawaida earlier this week.

OCHA once again reiterated the urgency of re-opening crossings to allow the entry of critical supplies. 

Children going hungry

Currently, more than 60,000 children are reportedly suffering from malnutrition at a time when community kitchens are rapidly running out of fuel and supplies.   

Humanitarian partners are also warning of acute water shortages in shelters hosting displaced people. 

“The loss of water – together with the lack of cleaning supplies and cohabitation with livestock – are having a dire public health impact. In March, more than one third of households in Gaza experienced lice infestations,” OCHA said.

This week, humanitarian partners also identified more than a dozen unaccompanied and separated children and are doing everything possible to reunite them with their families. 

The 7.7 magnitude earthquake – which struck on March 28 – has claimed over 3,600 lives, injured a further 4,800 people and left 184 still missing.

The disaster has affected more than nine million people across 58 townships, with thousands of buildings, including hospitals and schools, reduced to rubble. Aftershocks continue to rattle the hardest-hit regions, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis.

In response, UN agencies are calling for an additional $241.6 million to aid those in the most affected regions, while also channelling $134 million from the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Myanmar – which was released in December 2024.

The revised plan identifies around two million newly affected people in urgent need of assistance, adding to the 4.3 million who were already in need before the quake.

Myanmar was already in crisis before the disaster, with nearly 20 million – roughly a third of the population – in need of humanitarian assistance and protection, amid a brutal civil war between the forces of the military junta which seized power in February 2021 and opposition militias.

Heartbreaking destruction

During a visit to Myanmar, UN Special Envoy Julie Bishop met with communities devastated by the quake and urged international support for both immediate relief and long-term reconstruction.

She reiterated the urgent need for a ceasefire to enable humanitarian response and recovery.

“We need to continue to urge for a ceasefire, to stop the killing, stop the conflict so that the humanitarian workers, the search and rescue teams and those involved in rebuilding and reconstruction have the space to operate safely and securely,” she said.

Ms. Bishop described the destruction as “heartbreaking” and praised the resilience of survivors.

“I was particularly struck by those who have lost their homes but are determined to rebuild amid the rubble,” she said, stressing the need for global support.

“The international community has a significant role to play in supporting additional funding during this particular time of need but also using their influence to ensure…that all actors in this conflict put down their arms and focus their efforts on restoring the shattered lives of the people of Myanmar.”

Response overwhelmed

UN agencies report that Myanmar’s vital public services, already strained by conflict and instability, are now overwhelmed.

Myanmar’s remaining health facilities have critical shortages of medical supplies, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a humanitarian bulletin.

More than 193 healthcare centres and 2,311 schools have been damaged or destroyed, while ongoing infrastructure failures have led to food shortages, rising prices, and an increased risk of infectious diseases.

A cluster of acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) cases has already been reported in Sagaing and Mandalay, exacerbated by the destruction of sanitation systems.

Furthermore, extreme heat – reaching 44°C (111°F) – and heavy, off-season rains have worsened conditions for survivors, many of whom remain without shelter.

Fragile infrastructure exposed

The earthquake has also reignited concerns about Myanmar’s fragile infrastructure.

The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) warned that rebuilding roads, bridges and key public buildings must be prioritised to prevent future disasters inflicting a similar level of damage.

“This is not optional – it is a social and economic imperative,” the commission said.

Chad hosts 1.3 million forcibly displaced people, according to the UN agency, UNHCR despite it being one of the world’s poorest countries. More than half of these vulnerable individuals are Sudanese who’ve fled the fighting between rival militaries which erupted in April 2023.

Speaking from the Chadian border with Sudan, Mr. Grandi described the continued fighting as “absurd”.

He also condemned the ongoing “vicious human rights abuses” against civilians before calling for far greater international support for Sudanese refugees and their Chadian hosts.

The arrivals are mostly women and children – some of whom have been crawling, exhausted across the border with barely any possessions, according to aid teams on the ground.

Funding crisis

The UN agency stressed once again that the crisis rocking humanitarian funding globally has only made matters worse.

Large cuts to overseas aid provision in the United States and elsewhere have made it impossible to pay teachers, the UN agency said.

Clinics and schools that protect women and children from violence and exploitation have been forced to shut down.

Some 8,500 displaced children in Chad are at risk of losing access to secondary education this year. If the cuts carry on into next year, more than 155,000 could be impacted.

Lost futures

“Children have dropped out of school,” said Abdelrahim Abdelkarim, headteacher of a secondary school in Farchana refugee settlement in eastern Chad.

“Many students will take dangerous and illegal migration routes, attempting to cross the sea. Some may drown while others end up working in gold mines,” he warned.

High Commissioner for Refugees Grandi has previously described the funding shortfall as “a crisis of responsibility” in which “the cost of inaction will be measured in suffering, instability and lost futures”.

‘Siege-like conditions’

And as funding dries up for Sudan, relief teams are scaling back or withdrawing – leaving vulnerable communities to fend for themselves as their homes turn to rubble.

Today, after nearly two years of fighting, attacks against civilians, displacement, and climate shocks have left nearly two-thirds of Sudan’s 50 million people in need of aid and protection.

Speaking from the capital Khartoum, recently liberated from the opposition Rapid Support Forces by the Sudanese Armed Forces, Mohammed Refaat, Sudan Chief of Mission at the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that he has seen the impact of insufficient funding in just the last few days.

“The people who were in these areas have been trapped in siege-like conditions with no escape, no hope and often forced to face unspeakable abuse,” Mr. Refaat said, describing the destruction and suffering in the country as “immeasurable”.

Little access to basic services

The power struggle between Sudan’s rival generals — Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan — has killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted more than 12 million.

Both sides have been accused of atrocities and rights violations, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has previously reported.

Many families have returned to the capital now that the Sudanese Armed Forces are in control, but with little access to basic services, UN agencies have urged support to ensure relief.

Yet the crisis is far from over – and refugees continue to face hunger.

UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has projected that more than three million children under the age of five will likely suffer from acute malnutrition this year.

In Zamzam refugee camp in North Darfur, the crisis is pushing families to eat what is normally used as animal feed. Children also lack water, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

People fleeing insecurity in Blue Nile state in southwest Sudan, are moving towards state capital Ed Damazine, with clashes and access blocked hampering relief efforts, OCHA reported.