Right now in Sudan more than 30 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. More than 12 million have been displaced from their homes, and more than 600,000 are on the brink of starvation. An astonishing 26 million – half of the country’s population – are food insecure.
All of the indicators of a humanitarian catastrophe are flashing red. Yet, the humanitarian data systems that are necessary to anticipate and respond effectively to this crisis are teetering on the brink of collapse, as a result of the US government budget cuts. For the past 40 years, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, a United States Agency for International Development (USAid) activity that provided early warning and analysis of food insecurity – formed one of the main pillars of famine early warning. It provided a clear framework for prioritising humanitarian efforts to tackle extreme hunger. Now the ability of humanitarians to monitor and provide alerts on famine expansion are severely compromised as this source of famine data across the globe has been taken offline.
Over the past few months funding cuts have made their presence felt and have gutted aid programmes in Sudan. Services that once provided vital support have been forced to shut down, leaving millions without the basic means to survive.
According to the Sudan INGO Forum, at least half of the international NGOs and national responders actively delivering life-saving assistance across Sudan rely on US funding. An estimated 4.4 million people in the country received some form of humanitarian assistance thanks to US funding in 2024. The cuts now mean that critical programmes providing nutrition, food, health and protection to thousands are at risk. Local mutual aid groups, known as emergency response rooms – who have led responses in hard to reach areas – have had to suspend operations in many parts of the country.
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This conflict began in 2023 on the streets of Khartoum, turning the capital into a battlefield. The slaughter spread across the country, backed by outside influences with no interest in a peaceful solution.
On the second anniversary of that conflict, the unbearable level of suffering is still growing. Thousands continue to be killed, starved and raped as violence forces millions to leave their homes throughout Sudan and cross borders. Gender-based violence, including the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, is a constant in this horrific conflict. Women and men, boys and girls continue to endure shocking brutality as armed groups have perpetrated mass rape, slavery, and torture. Women and girls are not just unprotected, they are being brutally targeted.
The war in Sudan is testing the limits of humanitarian response – up to 80 per cent of health facilities in conflict affected areas are no longer functioning. There are repeated attacks on critical civilian infrastructure, cutting millions off from electricity, clean water and medical care, and large chunks of the population living in besieged areas remain out of reach.
The crisis has produced strong ripple effects in already-fragile neighbouring countries. Large, sudden movements of refugees and returnees have overwhelmed border areas with thousands of people crossing every day into South Sudan and Chad.
Reporting from eastern Chad, Patrick Freyne wrote last week that the situation remains extremely precarious for those who make it to the refugee camps on the border, with high levels of malnutrition among children. “It’s hard to get food,” one mother, Acha Mous, whose young son was being treated for the severe effects of malnutrition in a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hospital in Adre told Freyne. “It’s not enough. It’s never enough.”
Last September, former Irish president and chair of the Elders Mary Robinson told an emergency briefing held by Dóchas that the indifference to the crisis was “truly shocking”. That indifference still lingers. This is not just a forgotten crisis, it is an ignored crisis.
This week, we mark two years of war in Sudan. Two years of violence, death and displacement. Two years of suffering matched with two years of inaction. As foreign ministers from nearly 20 countries around the world gather in London tomorrow, an immediate and sustained ceasefire must be prioritised above all. UN member states must take urgent and meaningful measures to prevent external actors from funding the war and fuelling the conflict.
Minimum humanitarian standards such as the protection of civilians and unhindered humanitarian access must be upheld and delinked from political agendas. As the toll on civilian life deepens, diplomatic and humanitarian efforts must work in concert to bring relief to civilians and allow for a timely and effective response.
International actors must prioritise scaled-up aid delivery, demand immediate protection of vulnerable populations and unhindered access for humanitarian actors, while ensuring sustainable support for locally-led responses to mitigate the catastrophe unfolding in the country and the wider region.
In the programme for government, Ireland has pledged to advocate for greater attention on the conflict in Sudan. Now is the time to ensure we do all that we can to mobilise political pressure to agree a ceasefire, scale up aid to the region, and ensure the respect for international humanitarian law and minimum humanitarian standards.
The Government has also committed to “Continue to increase official development assistance annually, working towards the UN target of 0.7 per cent of gross national income”. While other countries are cutting their aid budgets, Ireland must continue to stand strong in defending and supporting those who are furthest behind in the world. There is no greater example of why it is needed than in Sudan today.
Jane-Ann McKenna is the chief executive of Dóchas, the Irish network for humanitarian and development organisations
