The African Development Bank and the World Food Programme signed and launched on 22 May 2026 an 87 million USD project to strengthen food systems in Sudan and support more than 1.2 million vulnerable people amid a protracted conflict and acute food insecurity affecting over 19 million.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) signed and launched on 22 May 2026 an agricultural project worth    87 million    USD to strengthen the resilience of food systems in Sudan and support more than 1.2 million people among the most vulnerable.

According to the project partners, this envelope will finance agricultural and social protection activities targeting both urban and rural households facing food insecurity and small-scale producers that are key to supplying local markets.  The initiative is presented as a response to the humanitarian emergency, but also as a lever to gradually rebuild production capacity in a country where climate shocks and conflict have disrupted value chains.

A safety net in a country in prolonged crisis

Project designers note that more than  1  9 million    Sudanese are currently facing acute food insecurity, making this one of the world’s most severe food crises. WFP stresses that conflict, mass displacement and restrictions on humanitarian access have weakened the entire food supply chain, from production to distribution.

The country is also grappling with an acute nutrition crisis, with hundreds of thousands of children at risk of severe malnutrition, while nearly   9 million   people have been internally displaced by violence and fighting. Humanitarian agencies have already put in place a famine prevention plan targeting about  9.3 million  people, but this plan remains underfunded.

Bridging emergency aid and productive recovery

The project co-financed by AfDB and WFP is designed to combine food or cash transfers for the most exposed households with production support for farmers, including the provision of inputs, backing for local irrigation and improved storage capacity.  Partners emphasise the role of family farming, which before the war provided the main source of income for around two-thirds of the population and has been severely affected by the destruction of farms and markets.

Humanitarian agencies underline that half of Sudan’s population now lives in a cycle of severe hunger, with more than  21 million  people in acute food insecurity, including  6.3 million  in emergency conditions. A joint FAO–WFP report ranks Sudan among the countries at immediate risk of famine if interventions remain limited and funding fails to materialise.

A significant envelope still short of overall needs

The    87 million    USD package announced for this new programme comes on top of other recent support, including a  12 million  USD allocation mobilised by the United Nations to reinforce the response to food insecurity in Sudan. The latter is intended to finance immediate humanitarian operations, while the AfDB–WFP project aims to consolidate local production and food systems.

WFP received around 9.8 billion USD in 2024, a high level but still insufficient to cover all global needs, while funding prospects remain under pressure in 2025 due to lower contributions from some donors.  UN agencies warn that without a rapid catch-up in financing, the risk of famine in key hunger “hotspots” will remain high over the second half of 2026.

Next steps and watchpoints for economic actors

The first implementation phases of the AfDB–WFP project are expected to focus on areas where markets remain accessible and where local organisations can act as intermediaries to identify beneficiary households and support small producers. WFP notes that access constraints linked to conflict and insecurity will weigh on the pace of deployment, particularly in states most affected by fighting.

For donors and development finance institutions, the trajectory of funding over the coming months will be a key indicator, as Sudan combines the world’s largest internal displacement crisis with one of the highest levels of acute food insecurity. The next update of famine-prevention plans and humanitarian funding appeals for 2026 will be a critical milestone to assess whether the    87 million    USD effort is part of a broader catch-up dynamic or remains marginal compared to the scale of needs.