Overview
- The IPC reported that acute malnutrition has surpassed famine thresholds in Um Baru and Kernoi, issuing an alert rather than a formal famine classification due to limited access and mortality data.
- Child malnutrition rates are extreme, with about 53% of under‑fives acutely malnourished in Um Baru and roughly one‑third in Kernoi, far above the 30% famine benchmark.
- Both towns near the Chad border received large numbers of people who fled El‑Fasher after the RSF takeover, intensifying shortages and insecurity in surrounding areas.
- Health and nutrition services remain severely constrained, with only about 25% of severely malnourished children in Kernoi enrolled in treatment and critical supply routes under threat.
- Violence continues to devastate care provision, including a reported RSF strike on a hospital in Kouik that killed 22, as experts project nearly 4.2 million acute malnutrition cases in 2026 and urge urgent funding.