12-18 April 2026 Sudan News Summary: Measles outbreak, food insecurity, crisis warning

19 Apr

Arabic news roundup

By William Greenwood

Medical staff and volunteers in North Darfur revealed on Thursday a rise in deaths and infections from the measles virus, which has begun spreading in most areas of the Darfur region.
The emergency room in Umm Kutkut, a town in the Tawisha locality southeast of El Fasher, reported that the number of cases has increased from 32 to 62 since the first survey on March 10th including one death and 22 recoveries, with the disease spreading further in neighbouring areas.
The emergency room explained that the North Darfur Emergency Room Council has provided vaccines, but they are insufficient due to a severe shortage at the town's health center.
It added that there is still an ongoing need for measles medications, intravenous fluids, and vitamins.
Meanwhile, the emergency room in Shangil Tobaya, located southwest of El Fasher, announced on Thursday the opening of a measles isolation center at the rural hospital following an increase in cases in the town, the Umm Draisai area, and the displaced persons camps in Shaddad and Naivasha surrounding the town.

The spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Eugenie Beun, warned of the consequences of the international community's neglect of the Sudanese crisis, which has entered its fourth year.
In an interview, Beun pointed out that the war has created a tragic reality: thousands of displaced children without guardians, widespread and systematic violence against women, and an entire generation losing years of schooling.
The UN official highlighted the ongoing bombing campaigns that force people to flee, as well as the lack of global attention to Sudan due to other issues that are more pressing for international attention.
She emphasized that Sudan is experiencing the world's largest displacement crisis and that peace is the only solution, especially since many Sudanese want to return to their country and rebuild it.
Women in Sudan continue to suffer from sexual violence and abuse, as do children who have lost three years of schooling or who have crossed borders without their families, who were lost in the fighting or whose whereabouts are unknown, according to Beun.

By Samuel Hunt

A joint report by Action Against Hunger, CARE, the IRC, Mercy Corps and NRC finds millions of families in North Darfur and South Kordofan surviving on one meal a day, with many missing meals entirely and resorting to leaves and animal feed.
The NRC-led report, "What it takes to eat", says the IPC has confirmed famine in parts of Sudan, with 28.9 million people now acutely food insecure and over 10 million facing severe or extreme hunger.
Agencies warn starvation is being used as a weapon of war, with farms destroyed, markets disrupted and women and girls facing heightened sexual violence risks, and urge leaders meeting in Berlin this week to drive an ambitious response.

Sources: Al Jazeera, NRC

At a Berlin conference marking three years of war, donors pledged more than 1.3 billion euros ($1.5bn) for Sudan, with UN chief António Guterres calling for an end to the "nightmare" conflict that has displaced 4.5 million people.
The Guardian reports that 34 million people — two-thirds of Sudan's population — now need humanitarian assistance, yet just 16% of this year's £2.1bn needs assessment has been funded, with Guterres warning that "funding alone cannot substitute for peace".
Neither the army nor the RSF attended the talks, and Sudan's foreign ministry denounced the meeting for its lack of consultation with Sudan as a "colonial tutelage approach"; UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper urged a concerted international effort to halt the flow of arms into Sudan.

Sources: Al Jazeera, Guardian

Bill Greenwood