Sudan Multi-Sector Needs Assessment (MSNA) 2026

Please refer to the attached file. Overview: The Sudan Multi-Sector Needs Assessment (MSNA) 2026 is a nationwide assessment designed to provide comparable, multi-sectoral evidence on the humanitarian needs and vulnerabilities of internally displaced, returnee, and non-displaced populations across Sudan. Between 23 July and 17 August 2026, DTM conducted 23, 736 household interviews across 185 localities in all 18 states. The assessment examines needs and access to essential services across key humanitarian sectors, including food security and livelihoods, health, WASH, education, shelter, and protection. The findings provide locality-level evidence to support humanitarian needs and severity analysis, prioritisation and response planning, and contribute to the evidence base for the 2027 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP). Key Findings: Livelihoods represent the most widespread area of unmet needs, affecting 68 per cent of households across Sudan. Nearly three in five households (59%) reported unmet water and sanitation needs, while access to water remains a challenge for almost a third (30%) of all households. Education needs affected 42 per cent of households, with 45 per cent reporting that children aged 5–18 were not attending formal school regularly during the 2025–2026 school year. Around 38 per cent of households reported unmet shelter needs, while 37 per cent faced unmet protection needs. Among households reporting a need for healthcare in the three months preceding the assessment, 38 per cent were unable to obtain the care they needed. This proportion was higher among IDP households (48%) than non-displaced (37%) and returnee households (31%). Economic pressures remain widespread: 98 per cent of households reported an increase in the prices of essential goods, while 68 per cent reported using stress, crisis, or emergency livelihood coping strategies. Food consumption patterns indicate that 31 per cent of households had borderline or poor food consumption, including 23 per cent with borderline and eight per cent with poor Food Consumption Scores. Unmet needs were consistently higher among IDP households than among non-displaced households across all assessed sectors. Differences were particularly pronounced in water and sanitation (79% compared with 56%), livelihoods (83% compared with 66%) and protection (60% compared with 33%). Note: Data quality was ensured through geo-verification, consistency checks, and real-time feedback to field teams. The final dataset provides representative findings at the locality (Admin 2) level. Lower-level geographic disaggregation should be considered indicative. Comparisons between population groups should be interpreted in line with the applicable sampling design. Three localities in South Kordofan (Al Buram, Heiban and Um Durein) were not covered due to security and administrative constraints. For access to the MSNA 2026 Interactive Dashboard, please visit Sudan 2026 MSNA Dashboard.

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