Sudan child malnutrition cases climb as war, drought grind on

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) estimated that 825,000 children under five in Sudan will suffer severe acute malnutrition in 2026, a 7 percent increase from 2025, according to reporting by Al Jazeera. The civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary, now in its fourth year since fighting began in April 2023, has combined with poverty and climate pressures to push more families toward crisis, the outlet reported.

How many children are affected so far this year?

UNICEF and its partners treated 174,700 children nationwide for severe acute malnutrition in the first six months of 2026, Al Jazeera reported. At Port Sudan Teaching Hospital alone, staff recorded 433 malnutrition cases between January and August. The figures mark a count of treated cases rather than a full census of need, and the IPC's 825,000 projection for the year describes an estimate rather than a confirmed tally — the method researchers use to model risk across a country where access for data collection remains limited by conflict.

What is driving the increase?

Al Jazeera's reporting pointed to three overlapping pressures: the ongoing war, household poverty, and climate change. The outlet did not quantify how much each factor contributes individually, and no single-cause breakdown was available in the source material. What is documented is the effect at the family level — delayed treatment driven by distance and cost.

How are hospitals coping with rising caseloads?

Port Sudan Teaching Hospital's malnutrition unit has 17 beds but has had to place three children to a single bed at times, according to nutrition counsellor Maryam Gadalsid, who spoke with Al Jazeera. "Medical staff assess each child's condition before providing essential supplies," Gadalsid told the outlet, describing a unit built for far fewer patients than it now serves. The overcrowding raises the risk of disease transmission among already vulnerable patients, Gadalsid said.

What does one family's experience show about barriers to care?

Layla Ali traveled two and a half hours from the village of al-Lalouba to reach Port Sudan after her five-year-old son, Adam, stopped eating and became too weak to move, Al Jazeera reported. Ali told the outlet that distance and fear of treatment costs delayed the trip until Adam's condition worsened enough that she feared he might die. He was hospitalized for five days. Ali said doctors helped her learn which foods matched Adam's nutritional needs, after she had been feeding him porridge and milk at home. Al Jazeera reported that Adam suffers recurring bouts of malnutrition, a pattern consistent with children who relapse after treatment in settings where food security remains unstable.

Data box

• 825,000: children under five the IPC projects will face severe acute malnutrition in Sudan in 2026, a 7 percent rise from 2025, per Al Jazeera.
• 174,700: children treated for severe acute malnutrition by UNICEF and partners nationwide in the first half of 2026.
• 433: malnutrition cases recorded at Port Sudan Teaching Hospital from January through August 2026.
• 17: beds in the hospital's malnutrition unit, now housing up to three children per bed, according to nutrition counsellor Maryam Gadalsid.

The original reporting is available at Al Jazeera.

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