Some 14 million Sudanese have fled their homes since war broke out in April 2023, and one in four Sudanese is now displaced, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported on 10 April 2026 in Geneva. As the conflict enters its fourth year, aid agencies have received just 16 per cent of the $2.8 billion required to deliver assistance inside Sudan and 8 per cent of $1.6 billion for the regional refugee response.

UNHCR Representative in Sudan Marie-Helene Verney told a press briefing at the Palais des Nations that fighting still rages across large parts of the country, causing new displacement "with no clear end in sight."

Who is affected and where?

Of the 14 million forced to flee, 9 million remain displaced inside Sudan and 4.4 million have crossed borders. For many, displacement has been a repeated cycle: flight to relative safety, then flight again.

Violence continues across much of Darfur, the Kordofans and Blue Nile State. Recent increased use of air bombardments and drones has sent more people fleeing. UNHCR reports ongoing human rights violations, including conflict-related sexual violence, forced recruitment, arbitrary arrests and massacres.

Women and girls face heightened risks of sexual violence, exploitation and abuse as they move through insecure areas. The collapse of health systems, law enforcement and justice mechanisms has created widespread impunity, leaving survivors of gender-based violence with significant barriers to reporting and services.

Children carry a heavy share of the burden. Millions have now spent three years of childhood in displacement with little to no access to school. More than 58,000 children arrived alone in neighbouring countries, often injured and deeply traumatized after separation from their families.

Which countries are under strain?

Chad, Egypt and South Sudan host the majority of Sudanese refugees and are "at breaking point," according to UNHCR. Arrivals from Darfur into Chad continue. South Sudan is simultaneously supporting Sudanese refugees and almost 1 million South Sudanese who have returned since April 2023 amid its own growing crisis.

A growing number of Sudanese are also making the dangerous journey through Libya to Europe. Over 14,000 Sudanese arrived in Europe between 2024 and 2025, a 232 per cent increase since the conflict began. UNHCR stresses these movements are not driven by choice but by the lack of prospects for peace and unmet needs in Sudan and across borders.

What is happening with returns?

Many displaced Sudanese are returning to areas where fighting has largely abated. Around 80 per cent of returnees are internally displaced people, alongside 870,000 refugees coming back from neighbouring countries.

Most returns are to Al Jazeera and Sennar states, with almost 1.5 million people returning to Khartoum, where conditions remain dire. Infrastructure and basic services have been largely destroyed, the economy is shattered and the social fabric torn apart. UNHCR calls support for returnees crucial to mitigate risks of further displacement.

What does UNHCR want?

Verney's briefing framed the ask plainly: peace, or at minimum better-funded humanitarian and development responses, so Sudanese can "live in dignity wherever they are." Without renewed global attention, the agency warned, suffering and risks will grow for millions of displaced people and the wider region, making the crisis more destabilizing and more costly to resolve — "a cost that Sudan, and the world, cannot afford to bear."

Sudan remains the world's largest displacement crisis and one of the worst protection emergencies, unfolding amid a severe global funding crunch. The figures cited here come from UNHCR's official briefing notes of 10 April 2026.