The conflict that erupted in Sudan on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) plunged the country not only into a security crisis but also into a systemic crisis that eroded the “infrastructure” of civilian life. Three lines defining people’s capacity for daily survival were simultaneously broken: humanitarian access, commercial supply/market functioning, and the continuity of basic services.
This policy outlook argues that hunger and displacement in Sudan are not separate crises but part of a single interconnected system. As the conflict disrupts reachability and predictability, aid breakdowns, supply chain failures, collapsing markets, and declining services threaten household survival and force mobility. UNHCR data shows that by March 16, 2026, there were 11,642,505 forcibly displaced persons in Sudan: 4,487,604 were recent arrivals outside Sudan, and 6,881,913 were internally displaced.
Crucially, this outlook identifies access—here defined as the continuity and predictability of aid, markets, and services—as the binding constraint within this system. While conflict initiates the crisis, it is the breakdown of these access regimes (systems that ensure the consistent provision of essentials) that determines where and when hunger translates into displacement.
