Famine in Sudan, Produced by Imperialism

Aug 18, 2025

Famine is spreading across Sudan. Much of the population had already been forced to survive on animal feed made of peanut shells. Now, even that has become too expensive for many people. The deputy director of Save the Children in Sudan reported that: “Millions of people are already weakened after a sustained run of rising hunger; many do not have the strength to miss even a single meal a day.”

Part of the problem is that, according to the U.N., more than two-thirds of the country’s people need humanitarian aid. The U.S, which used to be the largest single donor, has dramatically cut back the aid it provides, reducing what aid agencies can afford to provide.

Sudan is a large, agricultural country that used to export food. The famine is man-made: largely the result of a civil war that has torn the country apart for more than two years, killing more than 150,000 people. In 2019, two military branches cooperated in putting down a popular uprising. But in 2023, the leaders of these two armed forces began a war for state power, which is the main way to gain wealth in many underdeveloped countries like Sudan.

In June, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that ending the war in Sudan would be Washington’s next priority in Africa. But far from moving to protect the population, the U.S. has pursued its own interests.

The U.S., Russia, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have all backed one or another rival army in this war, vying for influence. With no regard for the disastrous consequences the fighting has had for the Sudanese population, the great powers pursue war, even as the body counts mount from fighting and from famine.

The people of Sudan—like those in Gaza and Ukraine—are victims of the wars and famines that are the inevitable result of the domination of the world by the imperialist powers—the U.S. above all.