Sudan Humanitarian Crisis

• As of July 5, 2024, more than 18,760 fatalities (since April 15, 2023) were recorded by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED).

• At least 20% of the population has been displaced either internally or externally since the crisis broke out. Additionally, 1 in 7 IDPs worldwide are Sudanese, and 14% of IDPs live in Sudan).

• Sudan is facing the worst levels of acute food insecurity ever recorded by the IPC in the country. North Dafur has an official declaration of famine by the Famine Review Committee.
• Women and girls are disproportionately impacted by conflict, where sexual violence is used as a weapon of war. According to CARE International, “Even before the most recent conflict, a staggering 3 million women and girls lived in fear of sexual or gender-based violence.”
• Humanitarian workers have faced increasing violence. Despite this, 163 organizations support the people of Sudan, including 87 national nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), 58 international NGOs, 11 UN agencies, six government partners and the Sudanese Red Crescent.
• In 2022, with a score of 0.516, Sudan ranked 170 out of 193 on the Human Development Index (HDI). By comparison, the world average score was 0.739. The U.S. was ranked 20^th with a score of 0.927. “The HDI is a summary measure for assessing average achievement in three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living.”

On Aug. 1, the Famine Review Committee (FRC) released a report indicating that conditions for famine were present at Zamzam camp and likely in as many as 13 other areas. They said, “The main drivers of Famine in Zamzam camp are conflict and lack of humanitarian access, both of which can immediately be rectified with the necessary political will. Famine conditions will only worsen and be further prolonged if conflict continues and humanitarian and full commercial access is not made possible.”

There had been rapid deterioration between December 2023, when the last hunger projection was released, and June 2024,

• Approximately 25.6 million people face acute hunger between June and September 2024. They were already struggling to feed themselves or their families. This was an increase of eight million people from December 2023.
• At least 8.5 million people (18% of the population) were at-risk of emergency levels of hunger, compared to 5 million people in 2023.
• Catastrophic/Famine/Famine-Like conditions were estimated to reach 755,000 people (and increase from none) across 10 states, including all “five states of Greater Darfur as well as South and North Kordofan, Blue Nile, Al Jazirah, and Khartoum states.”

Source: IPC

A June 2024 UNICEF press release said, “This is the first time that catastrophic conditions have ever been confirmed in Sudan since … 2004. Unlike the Darfur crisis of twenty years ago, the present crisis spans the whole country, with catastrophic levels of hunger even reaching the capital Khartoum and Gezira State, once Sudan’s breadbasket.”

It is important to note though, that famine does not need to be present for death to occur, especially among children.   In March 2024, Save the Children reported that nearly 230,000 children and new mothers were at-risk of dying in the coming months due to hunger and malnutrition.

Hunger and starvation have caused already vulnerable populations to take up harmful coping mechanisms. With aid groups unable to reach areas in Darfur, specifically IDP camps,  eight out of every 10 families in camps eat only one meal a day. Similarly, Save the Children nutrition experts witnessed pregnant women skip meals to allow their children to eat.

Since the start of the current civil war, civilians, including humanitarian personnel, have been killed in both deliberate and indiscriminate attacks by both the RSF and SAF.

As of Aug. 2, 2024, there have been more than 19,395 deaths, including military and civilian casualties, according to ACLED.

Researchers have mentioned that these numbers are “a conservative estimate due to methodological limitations of real-time reporting in a conflict of this nature.”

The violence and insecurity have resulted in movement restrictions for Sudanese populations and humanitarian actors, preventing many from receiving aid. In December 2023, ACAPS released its annual Humanitarian Access snapshot and rated the constraints on humanitarian access in Sudan as extreme (5 out of 5).

As the war spirals and atrocities mount, the U.S. determined the two warring parties have committed war crimes, including crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing in Darfur.

As of July 16, 2024, more than  10.7 million people have been displaced within and across borders, making it the largest internal displacement crisis in the world. This means that 1 in 5 people in Sudan are displaced.

According to IOM, over half (52%) of IDPs were reportedly “children under the age of 18-years-old.”

There is a connection between displacement, conflict and hunger. They say, The IOM adds, “Over 97% of IDPs across Sudan are in localities with high levels of acute food insecurity or worse.”

Since the conflict in April 2023, Sudan’s health system has been stretched to near collapse despite the rise in disease outbreaks, malnutrition and non-communicable diseases. As of April 2024, approximately two-thirds of the Sudanese population did not have access to healthcare, and between 70-80% of health facilities were no longer functioning. This crisis has only grown since then.

To make matters worse, systematic blocking of aid and attacks on humanitarian actors have prompted aid organizations to warn of suspension of operations and to close hospitals. In a new report, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said, “MSF teams working across Sudan have treated thousands of patients for conflict-related injuries since the start of the war, most injured by explosions, gunshots, and stabbings.”

Disease outbreaks, including malaria, measles and cholera, are present in two-thirds of Sudan’s states. About 1.8 million people have been reached with health care services (of the 4.9 million people targeted).

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Surveillance System of Attacks on Healthcare, since the start of the conflict there have been an alarming and increasing number of attacks on health care facilities, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries.

Even prior to the outbreak of conflict in April 2023, Sudan’s economy suffered from rampant inflation, shortages of basic goods and high poverty rates. On July 29, the first economic data from Sudan’s statistics agency since the conflict started was released. It showed an inflation rate of 136.67%. This was highest (721.71%) in the Northern State and lowest (109.61% in East Darfur State). Inflation cost increases were connected to increased rental and housing rates, high healthcare and medicine costs, and an increase in the costs of food.

The exchange rate of the Sudanese pound has decreased against the U.S. dollar and other foreign currencies as well. On July 25, the central bank said it had created a $1 billion fund, led by the Bank of Khartoum, to prop up the pound by increasing imports.

Sudan is one of the ten countries most vulnerable to climate change.

These vulnerabilities include seasonal rains becoming more unpredictable, increasingly frequent droughts and rise in temperature. Land degradation and forestation compound the impacts of climate hazards.

Climate change has also been a source of conflict due to competition for water resources, grazing land and pastures.

The conflict has an outsized impact on women and girls, particularly new mothers. The lack of available health care, high food insecurity and displacement have caused many to forego meals and health care services.

The conflict in Sudan has led to an increase in the risks of gender-based violence (GBV), with women bearing the brunt of displacement, food insecurity, and unmet sexual and reproductive health needs. The conflict has also reversed gains made during the transitional period and effectively created a “war on women.”

Due to the ongoing conflict, children are losing out on education, and an entire generation of Sudan’s children are exposed to the impact of war and trauma, some as child soldiers. As a result of the conflict, harmful coping mechanisms such as child marriage and reduced food intake are being reported.

In addition to children, women and displaced people, farmers and nomad communities have long been at the crossroads of conflict.