…As hunger, violence and despair grip South Darfur, MSF calls for urgent humanitarian access and support for local efforts to save lives.
By Bunmi Yekini
The war may have moved on from the city streets, but for the people of South Darfur, the devastation remains. A new report released today by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Voices from South Darfur, documents in harrowing detail how violence, hunger, and the collapse of healthcare have pushed entire communities to the brink of survival.
Drawing from first-hand testimonies and field data gathered between January 2024 and March 2025, the report paints a grim picture of a region where civilian protection has collapsed, humanitarian aid is minimal, and the wounds of war linger in the form of insecurity, sexual violence, and starvation.
“The voices and stories of people reflect the suffering, abuse and cruelty felt throughout communities in South Darfur,” said Ozan Agbas, MSF’s emergency manager for Sudan. “But also people’s endurance and compassion.”
A Healthcare System in Ruins
In Nyala, once the heart of MSF’s medical response in South Darfur, hospitals now lie in rubble following the urban warfare that erupted in 2023. Health facilities have been abandoned, medical staff have fled, and supply chains have been severed.
“Our farms are completely destroyed – we have nothing,” said a 21-year-old displaced woman from Beleil locality. “My husband was killed four months ago… For three days, I haven’t eaten anything.”
More than 10,000 acutely malnourished children under five were treated by MSF over a 15-month period, alongside thousands of pregnant and breastfeeding women and girls. But with the rainy season approaching, the situation is expected to worsen.
Fear in the Fields
Many women interviewed by MSF described fear as a constant companion. With farmland now dangerous due to violence and military presence, hunger and helplessness have become daily realities.
“When the women try to go outside the camp to farm… they will beat me, they will torture me,” said a 25-year-old woman living in a displacement camp. “My aunt’s daughter, she was raped by six men, just six days ago… I feel insecure, because if I go out, I will be raped.”
Sexual violence is endemic. MSF provided care to 659 survivors of sexual violence between January 2024 and March 2025. More than half of these assaults were carried out by armed actors, not civilians.
Hunger That Never Ends
Food insecurity is another devastating layer of suffering. With no safe access to farmland and prices skyrocketing, families often go entire days without food.
“I just depend on what I can find, day to day,” said a 24-year-old woman in Al-Salam displacement camp. “If I get something, we will eat. If I don’t get something, we won’t. This is my life.”
Communities, already drained of resources, have stepped in to help each other survive. Groups of young people clear rubble and unexploded ordnance. Teachers volunteer in looted schools. Neighbours share their last portions of food.
A Call for International Action
Despite the enormity of the crisis, international aid to South Darfur remains sparse and inconsistent. Many residents have never seen support reach them.
“We heard that international organisations help people, but they never bring anything for us,” said a 23-year-old woman in Nyala.
While UN agencies have begun finding limited ways to deliver supplies and NGOs are slowly expanding their reach, a comprehensive and coordinated humanitarian response remains absent, more than two years into the conflict.
MSF argues that the most effective and immediate help can come from empowering local organisations who are already risking their lives to provide relief.
“Local organisations in Darfur have the knowledge and expertise to provide essential services,” said Agbas. “Giving these frontline responders supplies, funding and decision-making power will make a substantial contribution to saving lives.”
Hope in Solidarity
Despite it all, signs of resilience remain. MSF has partnered with communities to run community kitchens, rebuild water systems, and supply medicines. In a state abandoned by many, these acts of solidarity are saving lives.
But the message from Voices from South Darfur is clear: local resilience alone cannot bear the burden. Humanitarian access must be urgently negotiated, claimed and granted, before the people of South Darfur are pushed past the point of no return.
“People in South Darfur demand to be listened to,” Agbas said. “They demand attention, and they demand action.”