Help Sudanese families survive, recover, and rebuild their lives.
Khartoum, Sudan, June 25, 2024 — IRC’s 2024 Emergency Watchlist identified Sudan as the humanitarian crisis most at risk of deteriorating this year. In response to the lack of attention on the crisis, the IRC has released a mid-year Crisis Alert on Sudan. The new report illustrates the trajectory of a country in freefall. Without a shift in the international approach from inertia to action, Sudan risks being torn apart by the conflict, with dire implications for millions of civilians, and regional security. Sudan is already the world’s worst displacement crisis and is rapidly becoming the world’s worst hunger crisis as well.
The alert highlights how military decision makers, regional powers, and the international community have all failed the people of Sudan, resulting in an ever-worsening humanitarian catastrophe that has left more than half the population – nearly 25 million people – in need of humanitarian aid. It analyses why the conflict has continued to escalate and spread, outlines how severe constraints on humanitarian access contribute to a response that is failing to meet needs, and provides recommendations to drive an urgently needed diplomatic and humanitarian course correction. The report pushes for tilting of scales towards peace, not more war, and an overall reset of the humanitarian response.
Civilians in Sudan are already facing threats to their lives and now the risk of famine is looming. Warring parties continue to block access for data collection meaning famine may never be officially declared. However, people are already dying from hunger and without an immediate halt in fighting and scale-up of humanitarian assistance, the worst levels of food insecurity (IPC5) are expected in many parts of the country over the coming months.
Eatizaz Yousif, IRC Country Director for Sudan, said, “After more than a year of war, the people of Sudan—my people—are experiencing suffering on a massive scale. Millions of lives have been turned upside down, children’s education has all but stopped, basic services like hospitals and banks have ceased to function in many parts of the country, and families are having to make impossible choices to feed their children. The world has chosen to ignore the suffering in Sudan for too long, many civilians have been killed and numerous towns have been destroyed, including the capital Khartoum. There has been no adequate interventions to halt the conflict.
As the civil war in Sudan escalates and the humanitarian disaster deepens, it continues to spill over into neighboring countries - like Chad and South Sudan that are already facing their own challenges. Urgent support is also needed to ensure those that have fled the country, and the communities that host them, receive the support they need until they can return home.
The IRC’s mid-year alert sets out clear recommendations for action that, if implemented, would tilt the scales towards peace and drive much needed reforms to the way aid is supported, implemented and funded. We know what needs to change, so there are no excuses for inaction.”
The IRC has adapted and scaled up our programming in Sudan to address increased humanitarian needs. We are supporting people who have been displaced internally through economic empowerment services, health and nutrition, and water, sanitation, and hygiene programs. The IRC also provides protection and empowerment services for women and children, including gender-based violence survivors in Blue Nile, Gedaref, White Nile and Khartoum states.
We have established offices in new regions, including Port Sudan, and are in the process of launching an emergency response in River Nile state to deliver cash assistance, safe water, and sanitation and hygiene services to vulnerable communities. We are also working to establish a presence in new locations to address gaps in humanitarian coverage and expand our programming in response to the enduring humanitarian crisis in Sudan. The IRC is also working in Chad, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Uganda to support refugees from Sudan.
With your support, the IRC can continue to bring uninterrupted critical support to crisis zones around the world. Give now.
