In 2025, the MENA region faced overlapping crises including conflict, displacement, economic collapse, disease outbreaks, and climate shocks, placing children at risk and disrupting access to services.
Middle East and North Africa offers a comprehensive, evidence-based analysis of one of the world’s most complex and dynamic mobility landscapes where labour migration, protracted displacement, environmental stressors and socioeconomic transitions converge.
In September, the security situation in Darfur and Kordofan States remained highly volatile and unpredictable, marked by intensified military confrontations, drone strikes, aerial bombardments and increasing intercommunal tension, leading to widespread insecurity, civilian displacement and growing humanitarian needs.
Since the outbreak of armed conflict in Sudan on 15 April 2023, Africa Region faced a large-scale humanitarian crisis marked by one of the most significant displacement movements in recent years. Millions of people fled the violence, crossing into Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Uganda.
There are now 12.0 million forcibly displaced due to the outbreak of conflict in Sudan since April 2023, including 7.7 million internally and 4.1 million in neighbouring countries.
Latest data from IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) shows a 13% drop in the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sudan since January 2025, now standing at 10.1 million.
Escalated armed clashes in Moqokori town, Hiraan region, have displaced at least 1,130 households (at least 6,780 people) to villages in the Buloburto, Jalalaqsi, and Mahas districts.
UNOCHA reports that over 9.3 million children are expected to suffer from high levels of acute malnutrition between June 2024 and May 2025 in Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.
At least 110,000* severely acutely malnourished children supported by Save the Children in 10 countries could be left without access to life-saving ready-to-use emergency food and nutrition programmes as aid cuts hit supplies in coming months, according to a Save the Children analysis.
WFP is working to scale up assistance in Sudan for 7 million people by mid-year in Sudan. In Libya, in February, WFP distributed food assistance to 4,285 individuals and reached 342 children under five and 125 pregnant and breastfeeding women and girls.
