Sudan: Two years of war, starvation & global failure, the world must act now

Two years of war in Sudan have created a humanitarian catastrophe without parallel. Over 30 million people – nearly 65 percent of Sudan’s population – now need urgent assistance to survive. Attacks on civilians are relentless. Women and girls endure systemic sexual violence. The reported use of rape as a weapon of war paints one of the conflict’s darkest pictures. Meanwhile, lifesaving aid is being deliberately blocked as famine spreads – pushing entire communities towards starvation – and the looming rainy season threatens to flood critical transportation routes and further reduce access to communities in urgent need.

While the international community has taken steps to alleviate suffering, these remain too slow, too timid, and dangerously inadequate.  

Half of Sudan’s population faces severe hunger. The stories that our teams and partners share with us must be a wake-up call to the world: A father so desperate that he tried to sell his three children, hoping someone who could feed them would buy them; families forced to survive on grass and leaves because there’s simply nothing else to eat. These are not isolated cases, but the brutal reality for millions living in conflict-affected states. 

Over 3.7 million refugees – mostly women and children – have fled to neighboring countries in search of food and safety, only to face equally dire conditions. Exhausted and destitute, Sudanese refugees arriving in Chad, South Sudan and beyond find overcrowded camps, scarce resources, and a humanitarian system stretched to its absolute limits. The region is at a tipping point, with tensions now flaring in South Sudan, Chad and Ethiopia. 

The world’s failure to fund humanitarian action in Sudan has now become the biggest obstacle to saving lives. Only ten percent of this year’s $ 4.1 billion appeal to assist 20.9 million people in Sudan have been secured. Efforts to support refugees and returnees in neighbouring countries also remain critically underfunded. This catastrophic gap is forcing Sudanese local responders to shut down life-saving communal kitchens and mobile clinics. Yet they are the backbone of the humanitarian response, saving lives daily by reaching those in the greatest need with food, water, and medical care.  

The upcoming ministerial conference on Sudan taking place in the United Kingdom must be a turning point. World leaders should move beyond rhetoric and take immediate, concrete action to end the conflict, protect civilians, ensure aid reaches those who need it, and stop the expansion of famine conditions. This requires facing a brutal truth: When funding dries up, people don’t just suffer—they die. Humanitarian organisations, including local responders, need resources now – not tomorrow, not after another round of talks – to halt the daily toll of preventable deaths.  

The world’s delayed action has already cost countless lives. This cannot go on. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).