As Sudan enters its third year of conflict, escalating violence will drive a new wave of civilians fleeing for their safety and turn the most significant displacement and hunger crisis in the world into an unparalleled emergency, according to projections by the Danish Refugee Council (DRC).
DRC’s latest Global Displacement Forecast, based on the Foresight model developed by DRC and IBM with Danish government funding, indicates that 2.1 million more people will be forced to flee their homes by the end of 2026 because conflict and death is at their doorstep. They will join more than 12 million Sudanese people already displaced inside the country and to neighbouring countries since the conflict erupted two years ago.
Compounding this, Sudan is also the world’s largest hunger crisis, where an estimated 25 million people – or half the population – are grappling with severe food insecurity and the threat of famine spreading to new areas.
It is tragic and heartbreaking to think that this conflict will drive even more people from their homes in search of safety, shelter, food, water and medicine. Civilians and families are broken and exhausted by two years of conflict that has made their lives a living hell. Sudan desperately needs an immediate ceasefire. There is no military solution. The world must turn its attention to this once-in-a-generation humanitarian crisis and get to work
/ DRC Secretary General Charlotte Slente
If bullets and hunger do not kill people, unexploded remnants of war, including landmines, rockets, and grenades, pose a grave threat. Even in areas where fighting has subsided and families are daring to return to their homes, every step is a matter of life and death.
The impact of widespread explosive ordnance contamination is particularly devastating given that two-thirds of the Sudanese population rely on agriculture for their livelihoods. The hunger crisis is forcing people to take extreme risks to survive. DRC has received the following reports of injuries and near misses:
“People dream of returning to their homes, but they face the nightmare of unexploded weapons. Farmland, markets, and roads are riddled with danger. We are working to remove these deadly obstacles and educate communities, but the scale of the contamination is immense. We urgently need more support to expand our mine action efforts,” said Secretary General Slente.
While DRC is actively involved in providing life-saving aid – including shelter, water, food, cash assistance and protection services – the organization is also prioritizing humanitarian mine action:
More about Foresight: DRC’s Foresight model accurately predicts displacement trends by analyzing 148 indicators, based on economic, security, political, environmental, and societal factors, across 27 countries that represent 93% of all global displacement.
About the Danish Refugee Council (DRC): DRC is an international humanitarian organization assisting displacement-affected people in 40 countries, providing aid from emergency relief to long-term self-reliance through shelter, water, food, microgrants, and demining efforts, ultimately working towards durable solutions to end displacement.