Millions in war-ravaged Sudan surviving on one meal a day, say NGOs

Al Jazeera · 🇶🇦 public Qatar · Apr 13, 2026 · 610 words · By Al Jazeera Staff

Sudanese Civil War Humanitarian Crisis Food Insecurity

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What to know about Sudanese Civil War

Millions in war-ravaged Sudan surviving on one meal a day, say NGOs Many people resorting to eating leaves and animal feed to survive in North Darfur and South Kordofan states.

Claims checked 13

Techniques found 1

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Right coverage

Left17%

Center83%

Right0%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Millions in war-ravaged Sudan surviving on one meal a day, say NGOs Many people resorting to eating leaves and animal feed to survive in North Darfur and South Kordofan states.

Why it matters

Millions of people in Sudan are surviving on just one meal a day, as the country’s food crisis deepens and threatens to spread, according to a report published by a group of nongovernmental organisations (NGOs).

Common ground

“Sudan’s war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which enters its third year on Wednesday, has caused widespread hunger and displaced millions of people amid one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises,” a report by Action…

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Sudanese Civil War story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Some 61.7 percent of Sudan’s population – 28.9 million people – is facing acute food shortages, according to the 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan?
What happens next if the deal stalls, and who has the power to restart talks?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/13/millions-in-war-ravaged-sudan-surviving…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 13 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 7

schedule Pending 3

verified Verified By Reference 1

help Insufficient Evidence 1

info Single Source 1

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Claim 1: “Some 61.7 percent of Sudan’s population – 28.9 million people – is facing acute food shortages, according to the 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results explicitly cite the 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, stating that 61.7% (28.9 million people) face acute food shortages.

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web search NEUTRAL — Sudan Food Crisis. The war in Sudan has engulfed the country in a dire humanitarian situation.As a result, the assessment warned that 28.9 million people (about 61.7% of Sudan’s population) are facing…
https://www.leaders-mena.com/sudan-hunger-crisis-deepens-20-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Some 61.7% of Sudan’s population – 28.9 million people – is acutely food-insecure, according to the 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan. The United Nations has reported widespread atrocities and…
https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5261683-millions-peopl…

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web search NEUTRAL — Only 20 per cent of Sudan’s 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan had been funded by April, according to the agencies.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/05/1167528

verified

Claim 2: “In April 2023, a war erupted between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF)”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia explicitly states that the civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began in April 2023.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Rapid Support Forces (RSF; Arabic: قُوَّاتْ الدّعْمْ السَّرِيعْ, romanized: Quwwāt ad-daʿm as-sarīʿ) are a Sudanese paramilitary force formerly operated by the Sudanese government. They originated…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid_Support_Forces

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Since April 2023, there has been a civil war in Sudan between two primary factions of the country's military government. The conflict involves the internationally recognized government of Sudan, contr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudanese_civil_war_(2023–prese…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Territory of the Rapid Support Forces refers to the areas controlled by the Rapid Support Forces from 2023 until 2025, until the founding of the Government of Peace and Unity.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territory_of_the_Rapid_Support…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 3: “Sudan’s war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces... enters its third year on Wednesday”

CORROBORATED

Web search results explicitly mention the war began 'exactly three years ago' in the context of current reporting, and Wikipedia confirms the start date of April 15, 2023.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 4: “more than 12 million forced from their homes”

CORROBORATED

Both Al Jazeera and BBC News independently report that approximately 12 million people have been displaced from their homes.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudan

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The "Liberated Areas" (Arabic: المناطق المحررة, romanized: al-Manāṭiq al-Muḥarrira) is the name given to areas under the effective control of the Sudanese rebel group SLA al-Nur, also known as SLA-AW.…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberated_Areas_(Sudan)

+ 2 more evidence sources

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Claim 5: “a report by Action Against Hunger, CARE International, International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps, and the Norwegian Refugee Council said on Monday”

CORROBORATED

Two separate web search results explicitly name the joint report by Action Against Hunger, CARE International, IRC, Mercy Corps, and the Norwegian Refugee Council.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On the morning of August 14, 2017, significant mudflow events occurred in and around the capital city of Freetown in Sierra Leone. Following three days of torrential rainfall, mass wasting of mud and …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Sierra_Leone_mudslides

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Prisoners for Palestine hunger strike was a hunger strike in the United Kingdom that began on 2 November 2025, undertaken by 8 people incarcerated for alleged pro-Palestine protest action. The hun…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Prisoners_for_Palestine_h…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is an incomplete list of recent hunger strikes and people who have conducted a hunger strike.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hunger_strikes

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 6: “the global hunger monitor confirmed, for the first time, famine conditions in el-Fasher and Kadugli”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm or deny famine conditions in el-Fasher and Kadugli.

schedule

Claim 7: “the rate of acutely malnourished children aged below five years was nearly double the famine threshold [in Um Baru]”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 8: “Female-headed households are three times more likely to experience food shortages than male-headed households”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 9: “more than 33 million people in need of humanitarian aid”

CORROBORATED

France24, allAfrica.com, and OCHA (via web search) all report that more than 33 million people in Sudan require humanitarian assistance.

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web search NEUTRAL — UN estimates indicate that more than 33 million Sudanese, including millions of people in Darfur, Kordofan and Blue Nile, are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
https://allafrica.com/stories/202605130103.html

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web search NEUTRAL — An estimated 33.7 million people across the country require humanitarian assistance this year – the highest number recorded globally.
https://www.ecns.cn/world/2026-05-13/detail-ihfenirv8001433.…

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web search NEUTRAL — “The world must stop turning a blind eye to the children of Sudan,” he said, adding that more than half of the children in Umm Buru are visibly wasting away. According to UNICEF estimates, 33.7 millio…
https://www.darfur24.com/en/2026/02/11/unicef-warns-sudans-c…

+ 1 more evidence source

info

Claim 10: “More than 40,000 people have been killed over the past three years, according to the United Nations”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided web search results for this claim are irrelevant (returning United Airlines information) and do not provide the death toll attributed to the UN.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Find and compare United Airlines flights & tickets for all destinations, read 9,735 reviews, see United Airlines fees, cancellation policy and flight information | KAYAK
https://www.kayak.com/United-Airlines.UA.airline.html

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web search NEUTRAL — United Airlines MileagePlus Exclusives. Use your MileagePlus points to bid and buy exclusive items and more.
https://exclusives.mileageplus.com/us/en

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Claim 11: “the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification found that famine thresholds for acute malnutrition have been surpassed in Um Baru... and Kernoi”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 12: “Millions of people in Sudan are surviving on just one meal a day”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results explicitly state that millions of people in Sudan are surviving on one meal a day based on NGO reports.

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web search NEUTRAL — Millions of people in Sudan are surviving on just one meal a day, as the country’s food crisis deepens and threatens to spread, according to a report published by a group of nongovernmental organisati…
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/13/millions-in-war-rav…

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web search NEUTRAL — "Often, they miss meals for entire days," the report stated, adding that many people have resorted to eating leaves and animal feed to survive.Some 61.7% of Sudan’s population – 28.9 million people – …
https://www.newarab.com/news/millions-people-sudan-surviving…

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web search NEUTRAL — Sudan has a population of 51.8 million people as of 2025[18] and occupies 1,886,068 square kilometres (728,215 square miles), making it Africa's third-largest country by area. Sudan's capital and most…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudan

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Claim 13: “Many people resorting to eating leaves and animal feed to survive in North Darfur and South Kordofan states”

CORROBORATED

Web search results confirm that many people have resorted to eating leaves and animal feed to survive, and Wikipedia confirms the existence and conflict status of North Darfur and South Kordofan states.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Kordofan (Arabic: كردفان Kurdufān) is a region in Central Sudan and a former province of central Sudan. In 1994 it was divided into three new federal states: North Kordofan, South Kordofan and West Ko…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kordofan

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Kordofan campaign is the theater of the War in Sudan that takes place in the 3 states that make up the Kordofan region: North Kordofan, South Kordofan, and West Kordofan. The campaign began on 15 …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kordofan_campaign_(2023–presen…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — North Kordofan (Arabic: شمال كردفان, romanized: Šamāl Kurdufān) is one of the 18 wilayat or states of Sudan. It has an area of 185,302 km2 and an estimated population of 3,174,029 people (2018 est). E…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Kordofan

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.