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The UN and the crisis in Sudan

10.2 million
displaced by conflict since 15 April 2023
14,000+
reportedly killed
26 million
People in need of assistance in 2024

What is the crisis about?

On 15 April 15, 2023, the fighting erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The armed conflict is affecting millions of lives in Sudan and causing mass displacement, food insecurity and education challenges that require immediate humanitarian help.

Right now, Sudan is experiencing a humanitarian catastrophe with over 25 million people in desperate need of assistance.

More information on the background to the conflict.

Latest developments

8 September

Sudan’s health system is “near collapse” after 16 months of war have left the country and its people facing what the UN’s top health official described on Sunday as the “perfect storm of crises”, which the world is largely ignoring. (UN News)

  • WHO Director-General’s opening remarks at press conference in Port Sudan (WHO)

6 September

Sudan - cycle of violence infographic

  • The UN’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan issued its first report. Sudan’s warring parties have committed an appalling range of harrowing human rights violations and international crimes, including many which may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. (UN Human Rights)
  • Top human rights investigators into Sudan’s brutal war have called for a country-wide arms embargo as they recounted harrowing testimony of victims of horrific sexual attacks whose bodies are treated as a “theatre of operation” by fighters acting with total impunity. (UN News)
  • Sudanese mother suffers tragedy before perilous escape to Libya (UNHCR)

5 September

  • The number of people experiencing catastrophic hunger has surged more than twofold in 2024, due largely to the ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Sudan, according to new figures released by the UN. (UN News)

3 September

  • “I could not leave them behind.” One woman’s determination to help orphans and single mothers in Sudan (OCHA)

30 August

  • Spotlighting crises roiling parts of eastern Africa, the UN deputy chief concluded a regional visit in Adré, Chad, on Friday, calling for global solidarity to tackle famine in Sudan, flooding and mass displacement while ensuring free-flowing aid for millions trapped in war zones and those fleeing for their lives. (UN News)
  • Experts call for immediate support for survivors of gender-based violence and an end to targeting of women first responders and human rights defenders (UN Human Rights)

29 August

  • Five things you need to know about the humanitarian crises in Southern and Eastern Africa (OCHA)
  • WFP operational update on food distributions in Sudan (WFP)
  • Floods, Dam Collapse Intensify Suffering in Sudan 500 Days into the War (IOM)

27 August

© UNICEF/Aymen Alfadil Hundreds of thousands of people in Sudan have been affected by heavy rains and flash floods since June.
© UNICEF/Aymen Alfadil Hundreds of thousands of people in Sudan have been affected by heavy rains and flash floods since June.

Around 20 villages in eastern Sudan have reportedly been “destroyed”, with 70 impacted overall, after floodwaters burst through a major dam, according to UN humanitarians – adding to the suffering of communities already devastated by the ongoing war between rival militaries. (UN News)

26 August

  • Sudan: Collapse of Arba’at Dam in Port Sudan, Red Sea State (OCHA)

25 August

  • The Arba’at Dam, located around 38 kilometers (24 miles) northwest of Port Sudan, collapsed, damaging roads, electricity, and telecommunication networks. Authorities estimate that around 50,000 people living on the western side of the dam have been severely affected. (UNOCHA)

21 August

  • The first WFP food supplies destined for desperate communities in Sudan’s Darfur have crossed the Adre border from Chad, after it was reopened by the Sudanese authorities following a six-month closure (WFP)

19 August

  • How do you tackle famine? UN News spoke with young people operating “emergency response rooms” in war-torn Sudan to find out how they are helping to overcome hunger at besieged famine-stricken camps in North Darfur, home to more than half a million displaced people, as the world commemorates World Humanitarian Day, marked annually on 19 August (UN News).
  • Reports indicate that 131 approved trucks will carry food and other relief items across the border, aiming to assist hundreds of thousands of people during and after the peak of the country’s rainy season. These supplies are expected to last through Sudan’s lean season in August and September (UN News)

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