The suspension of US humanitarian assistance has led to the closure of nearly 80 percent of emergency food kitchens in Sudan, worsening an already dire hunger crisis caused by the country’s civil war.
According to The BBC, aid volunteers revealed that President Donald Trump’s executive order, which halted contributions from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) for 90 days, has forced more than 1,100 communal kitchens to shut down. As a result, nearly two million people struggling to survive have been affected, leaving many at risk of starvation.
The war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has devastated the country since its eruption in April 2023, killing tens of thousands, displacing millions, and pushing parts of Sudan toward famine. The emergency food kitchens, run by grassroots groups known as Emergency Response Rooms, were among the last lifelines for civilians trapped in conflict zones.
“People are knocking on the volunteers’ doors,” said Duaa Tariq, one of the emergency room organizers. “People are screaming from hunger in the streets.”
The Trump administration abruptly froze all US aid to Sudan last month, citing the need to assess whether the assistance was “serving US interests.” This move has also sparked concerns as Washington reportedly begins dismantling USAID, a major global humanitarian agency.
With the conflict showing no signs of abating and international aid severely restricted, Sudan faces a growing humanitarian catastrophe, with millions now dependent on dwindling local and international relief efforts.
