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UN: Half of Sudan’s Population Face Acute Hunger

Volunteers prepare food for displaced people from Sudan in Chad on Wednesday. (Reuters)
Volunteers prepare food for displaced people from Sudan in Chad on Wednesday. (Reuters)
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UN: Half of Sudan’s Population Face Acute Hunger

Volunteers prepare food for displaced people from Sudan in Chad on Wednesday. (Reuters)
Volunteers prepare food for displaced people from Sudan in Chad on Wednesday. (Reuters)

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday that about 25.6 million people – over half of the population of Sudan – face acute hunger, including more than 755,000 people on the brink of famine.

The Office said after more than a year of the conflict in Sudan, an estimated 10.7 million people (2.1 million families) are now internally displaced, according to latest analysis.

Also, recent clashes in the Sennar state have displaced another 151,000 people inside and outside the state.

In July, the UN Secretary-General's personal envoy to Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, held a week of indirect talks involving Sudan's warring parties in Geneva, with the aim of reaching an agreement on the delivery of humanitarian aid and the protection of civilians. But the talks ended in failure.

In a related development, Sudanese authorities on Tuesday received more than 20 metric tons of essential medicines, diagnostics and supplies from the UN Development Program in Sudan to ensure the continuation of HIV and TB treatment for patients throughout the country.

The delivery, from the Global Fund, is worth just under $900,000.

UNDP Sudan has overseen five delivery flights carrying medicines, diagnostics and equipment since the beginning of hostilities on April 15, 2023, according to documents seen by Asharq Al-Awsat.

This shipment arrived via charter flight from Nairobi to Port Sudan and was offloaded to the National Medical Supplies Fund (NMSF), which is overseen by the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), on July 20.

Medicines, diagnostics and supplies from this shipment will be distributed to beneficiaries across the country.

They will be used to replenish the stock of Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) Tuberculosis Medicines and pediatric Anti-Retroviral (ARV) medicines lost during the escalation of the Sudan conflict in November 2023, resulting in the restoration of treatment for over 120 MDR TB patients and 368 children living with HIV/AIDs.

Adult ARV medicines were also delivered in this consignment, which will be utilized by 11,429 adults living with HIV/AIDS.

Continuous availability of TB and HIV medicine is essential to ensuring continuity of treatment, prevention of the spread of infection in the population, and avoidance of the advancement of disease that may lead to higher treatment costs or death.

“UNDP commends the Federal Ministry of Health for remaining resilient and committed to delivering health services during this time. Strengthening systems to support national capacity is the core of our mission in Sudan,” said UNDP Sudan Resident Representative Luca Renda.

“We will continue to enhance our partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health, the Global Fund and other partners to strengthen medicines/health products supply and distribution systems, which will ensure continuity of HIV and TB treatments while supporting the foundation for a sustainable healthcare system in the future for the country,” he added.

Dr. Sara Abdulla Azhari, the Director of Communicable Diseases Control Directorate at the Federal Ministry of Health said the Federal Ministry of Health, said UNDP Sudan and the Global Fund have been excellent partners in maintaining and supporting the public health system of the country.

UNDP said it has been committed to staying and delivering in Sudan, supporting the Sudanese people by continuing its development mission in the country.

This year, UNDP Sudan said it will look to deploy $32 million into the Sudanese health sector.

Since the start of the conflict in April 2023, almost 80% of hospitals in the conflict-affected areas have become non-operational, with the rest operating in limited capacity, according to recent UN and local data.

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Arab World

Over $71 Bn Needed Over Next Decade to Rebuild Gaza, Say UN and EU

Palestinian men stand atop a heavily damaged building in Gaza City on April 20, 2026. (AFP)
Palestinian men stand atop a heavily damaged building in Gaza City on April 20, 2026. (AFP)
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Over $71 Bn Needed Over Next Decade to Rebuild Gaza, Say UN and EU

Palestinian men stand atop a heavily damaged building in Gaza City on April 20, 2026. (AFP)
Palestinian men stand atop a heavily damaged building in Gaza City on April 20, 2026. (AFP)

More than $71 billion will be needed over the next decade for recovery and reconstruction in war-ravaged Gaza, according to an EU-UN assessment published Monday.

In their final Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA), the United Nations and the European Union said that more than two years of war in the Palestinian territory "has led to unprecedented loss of life and a catastrophic humanitarian crisis".

"Recovery and reconstruction needs are estimated at around $71.4 billion," said the assessment, developed in coordination with the World Bank.

Much of Gaza -- including schools, hospitals and other civic infrastructure -- has been reduced to rubble by a withering Israeli military offensive following the unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

The final assessment determined that $26.3 billion would be required in the first 18 months to restore essential services, rebuild critical infrastructure and support economic recovery.

"Physical infrastructure damages are estimated at $35.2 billion, with economic and social losses amounting to $22.7 billion," a joint statement said.

Gaza is under a fragile ceasefire agreed last October, which followed two years of devastating conflict sparked by the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

That attack resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli figures tallied by AFP. Palestinian fighters also abducted 251 hostages.

The retaliatory Israeli military campaign has killed more than 72,000 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry whose figures the UN considers reliable.

- 'Immense scale of need' -

According to the RDNA, some 371,888 housing units have been destroyed or damaged, more than 50 percent of hospitals in the territory are non-functional and nearly all schools have been destroyed or damaged.

At the same time, 1.9 million people -- nearly Gaza's entire population -- have been displaced, often multiple times, and more than 60 percent of the population had lost their homes, the assessment found.

Gaza's economy has contracted by 84 percent, it said.

"The scale and extent of deprivation across living conditions, livelihoods/income, food security, gender equality, and social inclusion, have pushed back human development in the Gaza Strip by 77 years," the assessment said.

The UN and the EU stressed that "given the immense scale of need, recovery efforts must run in parallel with humanitarian action" in Gaza, ensuring a "transition from emergency relief toward reconstruction at scale".

They insisted that the recovery and reconstruction needed to be "Palestinian-led", and incorporate approaches that actively support the transfer of governance to the Palestinian Authority, in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 2803.

That resolution, which was adopted last November, welcomed the creation of US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace to support Gaza's reconstruction.

The UN and the EU also emphasised that "a set of enabling conditions" were needed for the resolution to be implemented effectively on the ground.

They included in particular "a sustained ceasefire and adequate security", as well as "unimpeded humanitarian access and immediate restoration of essential services," and "free movement of people, goods, and reconstruction materials, within and between Gaza and the West Bank".

Without such conditions, they warned, "neither recovery nor reconstruction can succeed".

Arab World

Lebanon, Israel to Hold Second Round of Talks in Washington on Thursday

From left, Michael Needham, counselor for the US Dept. of State, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter pose for a photo before a meeting at the State Department in Washington, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP)
From left, Michael Needham, counselor for the US Dept. of State, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter pose for a photo before a meeting at the State Department in Washington, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP)
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Lebanon, Israel to Hold Second Round of Talks in Washington on Thursday

From left, Michael Needham, counselor for the US Dept. of State, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter pose for a photo before a meeting at the State Department in Washington, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP)
From left, Michael Needham, counselor for the US Dept. of State, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter pose for a photo before a meeting at the State Department in Washington, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP)

Lebanese and Israeli representatives will hold talks in Washington on Thursday, a US State Department spokesperson and an Israeli source speaking on the condition of anonymity told Reuters ‌on Monday.

The ‌US will host ‌the ⁠second round of ⁠ambassador-level talks between the two countries at the Department of State, the State Department spokesperson said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted ⁠the first round of talks ‌between Israeli ‌ambassador to the United States ‌Yechiel Leiter and Lebanon's ambassador to ‌Washington Nada Moawad - the first direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in decades - on April 14.

"We ‌will continue to facilitate direct, good-faith discussions between the ⁠two ⁠governments," the spokesperson said.

The second round of talks will mark the first talks between the two countries since a 10-day ceasefire took effect on Thursday.

- Aoun defends talks - 

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday that planned talks with Israel aim to end hostilities and the occupation in the south, even as Hezbollah and its supporters rejected the negotiations. 

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah told AFP Monday it was in Aoun's and Lebanon's "interest" to withdraw from the talks, however adding that his group also wanted the ceasefire to last. 

A ceasefire pausing more than six weeks of war between Hezbollah and Israel started on Friday after being announced by US President Donald Trump. 

"It is in the interest of Lebanon, the president of the republic and the government to move away from the path of direct negotiation and return to a national understanding about the best option for Lebanon," Fadlallah told AFP. 

"Perhaps through indirect negotiations, even via the United States of America, we can achieve" Lebanon's goals, Fadlallah stated. 

Aoun said Monday the goal of negotiations was to "stop hostilities, end the Israeli occupation of southern regions and deploy the (Lebanese) army all the way to the internationally recognized southern borders". 

Fadlallah said regional powers including Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have worked to build a US-Iran diplomatic track, which creates "a regional umbrella that can provide a kind of guarantee for Lebanon. 

"Going into direct bilateral negotiations, alone, amid deep Lebanese divisions and internal disagreements, constitutes a threat to internal consensus." 

He noted that there was no direct communication with the president, while Hezbollah's ministers remain in Lebanon's cabinet. 

Aoun's remarks on Monday came after an address to the nation Friday night, in which he said: "We negotiate for ourselves... we are no longer a pawn in anyone's game, nor an arena for anyone's wars, and we never will be again." 

The truce in Lebanon was also one of Iran's conditions for resuming talks with Washington to extend their separate ceasefire and work out the terms of a lasting peace. 

Lebanon is officially at war with Israel and has no diplomatic relations with its southern neighbor. 

- Aoun faces backlash - 

On the road to Beirut's international airport, in the southern suburbs where Hezbollah holds sway, AFP images showed fresh graffiti attacking Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Monday, following their endorsement of negotiations. 

"Joseph is a traitor, Nawaf is a turncoat," said one spray-painted sign. "Dealing with Israel is forbidden... no to normalization," another read. 

Senior Hezbollah official Mahmud Qamati blasted Aoun on Saturday, saying "defeated, you go to the Israelis and Americans, let's see what you will get out of it". 

Hezbollah supporters also heaped scorn on Aoun on social media. 

"You're going to hand over the south after two days of negotiations?" one user posted on X, adding "we won't let you" sign an agreement. 

"After all our sacrifices this guy wants to speak for us?" another user posted on X, with their profile picture showing a picture of Aoun and Salam with the words "they do not represent me". 

Israeli attacks killed nearly 2,300 people and forced over a million to flee their homes, Lebanese authorities said, since Hezbollah pulled the country into the Middle East war last month. 

"Any outcome of direct negotiations cannot be imposed on the people who made these sacrifices," Fadlallah told AFP. 

- 'I am full of hope' - 

Aoun on Monday named former Lebanese ambassador to Washington Simon Karam to head the negotiations with Israel. 

In December, Karam became the first Lebanese civilian representative to directly speak with Israeli representatives in decades, as part of a ceasefire monitoring mechanism set up at the end of a previous round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in 2023 and 2024. 

"Lebanon is facing two options: either the continuation of the war, with all its humanitarian, social, economic, and sovereign repercussions, or negotiations to put an end to this war and achieve lasting stability," Aoun said. 

"I have chosen negotiations, and I am full of hope that we will be able to save Lebanon," he said. 

Arab World

A Top Paramilitary Commander Defects to Sudan’s Military as War Enters 4th Year

A boy is seen through the wreckage of a car in Omdurman, Sudan, on the outskirts of Khartoum, Friday, April 17, 2026. (AP)
A boy is seen through the wreckage of a car in Omdurman, Sudan, on the outskirts of Khartoum, Friday, April 17, 2026. (AP)
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A Top Paramilitary Commander Defects to Sudan’s Military as War Enters 4th Year

A boy is seen through the wreckage of a car in Omdurman, Sudan, on the outskirts of Khartoum, Friday, April 17, 2026. (AP)
A boy is seen through the wreckage of a car in Omdurman, Sudan, on the outskirts of Khartoum, Friday, April 17, 2026. (AP)

A high-profile paramilitary commander in Sudan has changed sides and joined the country’s army in a move welcomed by army chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan shortly after the war entered its fourth year.

Burhan on Sunday welcomed Maj. Gen. al-Nour Ahmed Adam, who defected earlier this month from the Rapid Support Forces. The ruling sovereign council posted a video on social media showing Burhan’s meeting with Adam, who is known as al-Qubba, in Sudan’s Northern province on the border with Egypt.

“Doors are open to all those who lay down arms and join the path of national reconstruction,” Burhan, who chairs the sovereign council, said in a statement.

The RSF didn’t comment on the defection.

Adam fled the RSF-controlled Darfur region earlier this month and joined the military along with dozens of fighters and equipment, according to local media.

The Sudan Tribune news outlet reported that Adam left after “disputes” with the RSF leadership, mainly over not appointing him as a military commander of North Darfur province after the RSF seized control of el-Fashir city in October – the military’s last stronghold in the Darfur region.

Adam is one of the most senior officers to defect from the paramilitaries during the war. In 2024, Abu Aqla Kaikel, who led the Sudan Shield Forces, left the RSF when the military retook the crucial central province of Gezira.

The war broke out in April 2023 when a power struggle between the military and RSF exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the sprawling country.

The war has killed at least 59,000 people, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, known as ACLED. The US-based war tracking group said its toll was almost certainly low given difficulties in reporting.