Following the outbreak of conflict in Sudan nearly a year ago, 25 million people—including 14 million children—now need humanitarian assistance and support, according to the United Nations. Nine million have been displaced from their homes, making Sudan the largest displacement crisis in the world.
Damage to infrastructure has impeded access to food, water, healthcare services and even banking. Sudan now teeters on the edge of a famine, with the outlook worsened by the upcoming rainy season, lasting from June through to November. This is a concern as the Horn of Africa is heavily climate affected and therefore prone to severe flooding.
Since the outbreak of violence, Caritas partners in Sudan have distributed food at 17 gathering points for internally displaced people, as well as delivering multipurpose cash assistance, water and hygiene services, and gender-based violence protection. These partners also have access to remote border towns in Chad and South Sudan, enabling them to support those displaced across borders.
The outlook is dire for displaced people in and around Sudan, especially women and girls.
As late as the end of last year, one partner reported seeing 4,200 refugees arrive at a gathering point each day, around 90 per cent of them women and girls. Concerningly for women and girls, the need for gender-based violence services in Sudan is expected to increase to 6.9 million people in 2024, up from 4.2 million in 2023 and one million in 2022.
Church leaders in Sudan say political support is required to improve the humanitarian situation. In a statement, the Sudan Catholic Bishops Conference expressed its concern that ‘the international community has forgotten the Sudan crisis’ and called on the Caritas network across the world to ‘engage their respective governments, donors and the wider international community to urgently pick up and advocate for the needed resources to avert the looming famine’.
The Sudan Catholic Bishops Conference expressed its concern that ‘the international community has forgotten the Sudan crisis.’
Kirsty Robertson, CEO of Caritas Australia says, ‘The outlook is dire for displaced people in and around Sudan, especially women and girls. As such, we continue to call on our government to undertake diplomatic action to improve aid access through agreed humanitarian corridors or a ceasefire. We do take solace in the breadth of our partner network in the region, many of whom have years if not decades of experience there. Their tireless work ensures the generosity of our supporters here in Australia is felt by the people across the region.’
On 19 March, Ms Roberston spoke at an event on the Sudan crisis at Parliament House, hosted by the Sudanese Australian Advocacy Network (SAAN).
Banner image: Sudanese refugees collect water from a borehole at the Gorom Refugee Camp near Juba, South Sudan, on 26 January 2024. The camp is hosting Sudanese refugees who fled recent fighting in their own country. (Photo: OSV News/Samir Bol, for Reuters.)
