The Norwegian Refugee Council said that two years after the start of the crisis, Sudan is witnessing a combination of catastrophic factors and widespread violence that has caused the deepest humanitarian collapse in Sudan's history.
“This week we mark two years since the outbreak of war in Sudan, which has caused one of the most horrific crises of our generation, forcibly displacing nearly 15 million people,” Council Secretary-General Jan Egeland said in a press statement on Tuesday . “For more than 700 days and nights, armed men attacked defenseless civilians with impunity. Civilians were not protected, and peace efforts failed.”
He stated that the crisis is being exacerbated by US funding cuts as well as aid reductions by several European donors.
He added that programs that provided vital support were forced to cease operations, leaving millions without basic means of survival, while approximately 25 million people face devastating hunger.
He continued: "However, we have been forced to stop our support to farmers, whose products are essential to help us avert the famine that has yet to strike. We have been forced to close aid access centers for displaced and vulnerable people, where they can seek our services."
"We have had to cut education for thousands of children who desperately need it," he added. "This is Sudan's darkest hour."
Egeland noted that neighboring countries hosting more than three million refugees and returnees, including Chad and South Sudan, are now bearing the burden of the surplus refugee population while facing their own crises, adding: "This is not just a political failure, it is a moral failure."
He made clear that we must not allow self-interest to overshadow the fundamental responsibility to save lives.
The Secretary-General of the Council called on the international community to reverse these misguided shifts in funding and recommit to protecting humanity, stating that actions at this critical moment will determine whether we choose compassion or conflict over the future of our shared humanity.