Sudan (MNN) — Today marks 1,300 days since civil war broke out again in Sudan on April 15, 2023.

The renewed conflict between Sudan’s military and a rebel paramilitary group has spiraled into what the World Health Organization calls the largest humanitarian crisis in the world today. 

“It’s complicated. It’s complex, and you can feel that this situation is a desperate situation, and nobody knows a way out,” says a woman we’ll call Margaret. She works with a ministry based in Europe that serves persecuted Christians around the world.

Some estimate that around 13 million people have been displaced by the war in Sudan. Untold tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, have lost their lives. 

Voices such as the United Nations have been calling for international attention on Sudan. The World Food Programme says around 19.5 million people in Sudan — over a third of the population — face crisis levels of hunger. In October 2026, the United States, the European Union, and 30 other countries warned that famine looms over Sudan, calling for action.

(Photo courtesy of Michael Starkie/Unsplash)

The large-scale struggles can make any small measure of good seem irrelevant. But God works in the small things. 

“To me, I don’t see any political solutions anytime soon. So the hope is in Christ and with the Church and with the people following Jesus no matter what,” says Margaret. 

The church faces a hard road from both sides of the civil war. On top of the multiple struggles of surviving a war, Margaret says Christians in Sudan encounter additional challenges for their faith. 

“They are seen as a minority, and therefore many times they are denied their rights,” she says. (More on those struggles here.)

For example, registering a new church can take years to accomplish. Also, children in school must follow Islamic curriculums, “and if they want to graduate and have their credits, well, they are very much influenced by Islam, which is really concerning,” says Margaret. 

In these challenges, Margaret names a few concrete things to ask God to do through His people. Pray that churches will find ways to pass on the faith to the next generation. Pray also that schools can reopen and equip kids with skills for the future.

“In some areas, children have not been able to [go to] school for three years. If this continues, we lose a generation,” says Margaret. “There will be many people who cannot read, write, [who will] lose a lot of opportunities, a lot of capacity — future capacity also.” 

Watch a 3-minute prayer video here to further lead your prayers for Sudan. 

Header photo: Sudanese refugees who have fled the conflict in Sudan register for food aid in neighboring Chad. (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)