13-19 September 2026 Sudan News Summary: food shortages amid challenging economic and political situation

Arabic news roundup

By William Greenwood

Sudan tested by expanding conflict, economic strangulation, and paralysed relief efforts

• Humanitarian and diplomatic efforts in Sudan are facing a critical test amidst escalating military hostilities and deteriorating living conditions, with UN bodies warning of an imminent collapse in food and service supply chains during September.

• Reports from international organisations confirm that severe funding shortages threaten to halt aid to millions of displaced persons and refugees, pushing the country to the brink of an unprecedented humanitarian disaster compounded by the stalling of political and stabilisation efforts on the ground.

• The decline in international support stems from competing global crises and donor concerns regarding aid delivery, forcing organisations to cut operational budgets and leaving millions of Sudanese without even the most basic relief coverage.

• Restoring stability in relatively safe areas remains extremely difficult in the absence of a comprehensive political vision or a unified framework for a solution.

• These warnings coincide with new waves of displacement in the Kordofan and Blue Nile states, driven by intensifying armed clashes, with adverse weather conditions and climate change  further exacerbating the suffering of families fleeing conflict zones.

• Data from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the World Food Programme (WFP) indicate an urgent need for billions of dollars in funding to prevent the closure of key distribution centres, as resource shortages have forced food rations for displaced families to record lows.

• The crisis’s social impact extends to the health and education sectors; remaining hospitals suffer from acute shortages of medicines and medical personnel, leading to record rates of disease and seasonal epidemics.

• The current military strategy of both sides focuses on severing the adversary's supply lines and destroying critical infrastructure, thereby compounding the war's economic and social costs and delaying prospects for rapid recovery.

From: Sudan Tribune

El Daein bans sorghum and millet hoarding

• The civil administration authorities in Al-Daein locality, East Darfur State, have issued a local order prohibiting the hoarding of millet.

• The order imposes financial penalties and custodial sentences on violators; repeat offences entail the confiscation of the stockpiled quantities and their free distribution to the public.

• The local order specifically bans storing millet for the purpose of hoarding—waiting for prices to rise—and mandates that merchants holding stocks release them for daily trade, as well as requiring merchants to report their existing inventory to the relevant authorities within one week of the order's issuance.

• Several states across the Darfur and Kordofan regions are experiencing rising prices for millet amidst expectations of an agricultural season failure due to scarce rainfall, and the situation has prompted authorities in various areas and towns to issue decrees restricting the transport of grain to other regions.

• The price of a sack of millet reached approximately 600,000 Sudanese pounds in Zalingei and around 400,000 pounds in Nyala, while climbing to about 750,000 pounds in the Hamrat Al-Sheikh area of ​​North Kordofan State.

From: Darfur24

Skyrocketing prices exacerbate the suffering of residents in the al-Saliha neighbourhood in Omdurman’s southern rural area

• Living conditions in the al-Saliha areas are deteriorating due to rapidly rising food prices and frequent power outages, alongside a cash shortage and the failure of electronic payment applications; meanwhile, the security situation in the area is described as relatively stable.

• The rise in the dollar exchange rate has directly impacted commodity prices, leading to exorbitant hikes in the cost of staple foods that residents rely on for their daily meals.

• Most residents are increasingly relying on rice, lentils, and beans as dietary staples, yet rising prices have made it difficult for many families to afford them.

• Frequent daily power outages lasting up to eight hours are also disrupting essential services, including water supply, cooking, and bread production.

• The residents' hardships extend beyond high prices and service issues; they also face difficulties conducting financial transactions due to the malfunction and sluggish performance of the "Bankak" app, a tool many citizens have come to rely on given the scarcity of cash.

From: Dabanga