The Weaponization of Hunger: Famine in Sudan and Beyond
In August 2025, an IPC analysis confirmed the existence of famine in parts of Gaza, with over half a million people facing conditions of extreme hunger. This crisis unfolds alongside a deepening famine in Sudan, a situation exacerbated by global events and a stark imbalance of power that increasingly demonstrates the deliberate use of starvation as a weapon.
The situation in Sudan is particularly impacted by Russia‘s actions regarding Ukrainian grain exports. Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia blockaded Ukrainian Black Sea ports, later withdrawing from the UN-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative and subsequently targeting ports and Danube terminals. This disruption aimed to restrict the flow of millions of tonnes of grain to world markets, driving up prices and severely impacting African importers like Sudan.early 2024 saw 7,600 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat flour – enough to feed approximately one million people for a month – arrive at Port Sudan through initiatives like “Grain From Ukraine,” but the ongoing Russian naval threat continues to jeopardize these vital supplies.
Beyond blocking exports, Russia’s war has directly damaged Ukraine’s agricultural infrastructure. Missiles, mines, and occupation have devastated farmland, silos, and the power grid, enabling the systematic theft of grain from occupied areas and crippling Ukraine’s ability to feed both its own population and the wider world. This echoes a dark historical precedent: the Holodomor, Stalin’s engineered famine in Ukraine between 1932-33, which involved seizing grain, sealing borders, and exporting food while Ukrainians starved. The current Kremlin, while employing different tactics, operates under a similar logic – turning food into a tool of control. The outcome is that Sudanese families are now experiencing the repercussions of decisions made in moscow, mirroring the suffering endured by Ukrainian villagers under Stalin and, presently, under Putin.
This unfolding tragedy occurs within a context of extreme global inequality. Oxfam’s 2024 report reveals that billionaire wealth increased by roughly $2 trillion in 2024 alone – three times faster than the previous year – while global poverty has remained largely stagnant since 1990. A small number of states and corporations maintain control over critical resources like grain, fertilizer, shipping, and insurance.
In a world of such abundance, famine in Sudan is not an inevitability, but a damning indictment of a system that prioritizes profit over human life. This system allows for the use of blockades, sieges, and the deliberate destruction of farms to push populations towards starvation, effectively choosing a side in the struggle for survival. Whether Sudan’s famine becomes another preventable tragedy,or a turning point where engineered hunger is finally deemed intolerable,hinges on the willingness of wealthier,safer nations to intervene and prevent further suffering – not just in Sudan,but possibly in Gaza and Ukraine as well.
