Starvation Deepens in Sudan’s El-Fasher as Aid Blockades and Conflict Persist

Thousands of people in Sudan’s besieged city of El‑Fasher are facing catastrophic hunger, the UN’s World Food Programme warned on August 5 and 6, 2025. Blocked from delivering food by road for over a year, WFP has instead provided digital cash to roughly 250,000 residents, which is far short of the desperate need.

Food prices in the city have become astronomical; basic staples like sorghum and wheat now cost up to 460% more than in other parts of Sudan. With markets nearly empty and communal kitchens shut down, many families are now resorting to eating animal fodder or food waste just to survive. A displacement camp resident declared, “We are suffering, world. We need humanitarian aid, food and medicine, whether by airdrop or by opening ground routes. We cannot survive in this condition”.

Meanwhile, violence continues to hinder humanitarian access. A joint WFP–UNICEF aid convoy sent in June was attacked, resulting in five deaths and the destruction of supplies. Cemetery expansion reflects rising death tolls, while intense combat, incl. artillery and drone raids, has shut bakeries, cut electricity, and caused cholera outbreaks in overcrowded displacement camps like Tawila.

WFP’s regional director, Eric Perdison, emphasised: “Without immediate and sustained access, lives will be lost”