Sudan Humanitarian Crisis

Grassroots mutual aid organizations have created Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs) to provide services in communities to which humanitarian organizations no longer have access. 

Local groups are currently the only aid providers able to reach those struggling to survive in much of Sudan. The ERRs’ strength is rooted in the deep Sudanese culture of neighborhood community support. This is also an exercise of citizen participation, a rebirth of civic life, maintaining the social fabric, and the continuation of the creation of a new civil society that celebrates diversity and adopts human rights and democratic practices.

The New Humanitarian explains that the groups “drew members from a vibrant pro-democracy movement, and brought ideas rooted in a rich heritage of social solidarity, best represented in the tradition of nafeer (‘a call to mobilise’).”

ERRs work in a coordinated manner to create community responses to the challenges that exist in Sudan, including repairing electricity, water and telecommunications infrastructure. Within weeks of the beginning of the war, there were thousands of volunteers in Khartoum, including those with professional certifications, such as doctors and nurses. These volunteers, and many more, are now operational in seven states, managing dozens of basic ERRs that help meet the essential needs of community members, health clinics and hospitals, along with hundreds of soup kitchens.

A Localization Coordination Council (LCC) has been established to act as a coordinating body. The LCC plays a critical role in managing intake requests from across the country, prioritizing funds, resolving conflicts and facilitating collaboration.

Despite the great work they are doing, ERRs receive little financial support from international donors (most money comes from local groups and businesses or diaspora donations) and are being threatened by both factions in the war. Mutual support and locally-led aid efforts by volunteers have been instrumental in supporting people, particularly those trapped by conflict or in hard-to-reach areas for international humanitarian partners. They need more financial support.

Mutual aid recognizes that everyone has needs and assets. Spaces established through mutual aid concepts are not just about direct service provision but are also about connecting, organizing and skills building.

The critical need for aid is ongoing. Funders and international agencies must ensure that local initiatives and mutual aid networks are not just seen as a short-term solution to overcome access barriers but a long-term way of delivering humanitarian assistance that embeds response in the communities being helped.

Donors can support ERRs to help provide direct aid to communities living in war, build ERR capacity through training and support, and communicate the work they are doing. Funders who are unable to direct grants to non-501c3 organizations can work through an intermediary, such as CDP’s pooled Sudan Humanitarian Crisis Fund, which has already provided a grant directly to a Sudanese organization helping to lead the ERR work.

In August 2024, CDP provided a $50,000 grant to Adeela for Culture and Arts. This grant will support the ERRs through microgrants in coordination with the Localization Coordination Council.

To learn more about Emergency Response Rooms and Mutual Aid, listen to The New Humanitarian podcast.

During the Clinton Global Initiative 2024 Annual Meeting on Sept. 23, the newly formed Coalition for Mutual Aid in Sudan committed to channeling $2 million in emergency funds and other support to vetted networks of Sudanese responders by the end of 2024. The Coalition also pledged to draw attention to the humanitarian crisis in Sudan among peer philanthropies and mobilize an additional $4.5 million in contributions to expand the reach and capacity of Sudanese responders through 2026.

On Aug. 1, the Famine Review Committee (FRC) released a report indicating that conditions for famine were present at Zamzam camp and likely up to 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.”

UNICEF 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 conditions do not need to be present for death to occur, especially among children.

Since the start of the current civil war, civilians, including humanitarian personnel, have been killed in both deliberate and indiscriminate attacks by both parties. Between April 15, 2023, and Sept. 18, 2024, there have been more than 23,299 fatalities, including military and civilian casualties, according to ACLED.

The two opposing armies have been wrestling for control of El Fasher City in North Darfur since May 2024. The fighting intensified on Sept. 12, 2024, and continues to worsen. U.N.’s Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Joyce Msuya, said that more than 700,000 IDPs and many others are at risk of being killed. While civilian casualties have been confirmed, no fatality total has been determined.  El Fasher is home to hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people at risk of famine, including in the Zamzam camp, where famine has been confirmed. Two other camps have been repeatedly shelled.

Tens of thousands of people have fled El Fasher for Tawila, a town 45 miles away. There at least 10 children a day are dying from hunger, with many others dying from other impacts of the war.

In July 2024, ACAPS updated its Humanitarian Access snapshot and continued Sudan’s extreme constraints rating (5 out of 5), stating, “Extreme constraints persist in … Sudan given escalating conflict amid growing bureaucratic and physical restrictions for humanitarian responders.

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.

The international humanitarian response has been limited because of issues with access and safety. Many of the relief activities are being provided by Sudanese nationals.

The violence and insecurity have resulted in movement restrictions for Sudanese populations and humanitarian actors, preventing many from receiving aid.

Effective Aug. 16, 2024, the Adre border crossing (between Sudan and Chad) reopened to humanitarian aid for three months. The crossing provides the shortest and easiest route to the affected populations but had been closed since February 2024. Humanitarian organizations immediately began moving aid supplies, including medicine, shelter, and emergency food and nutrition items. Due to conflict, poor road conditions and flooding, more than 50 trucks carrying enough food and nutrition supplies to feed half a million people for three months are stuck in various areas around the country.

Since the conflict in April 2023, Sudan’s health system has been stretched to near collapse while facing a rise in disease outbreaks, malnutrition and non-communicable diseases. As of July 2024, approximately 14.7 million people in Sudan did not have access to health care, in part because 70% of health care facilities in conflict settings were no longer operational.

Two-thirds of Sudan’s 18 states “are experiencing three or more outbreaks of different diseases simultaneously.” These include dengue fever, measles, malaria, rubella and cholera. Vaccination rates have decreased from 85% before April 2023 to 50% nationwide but just 30% in areas of active conflict as of September 2024.

UNICEF says that “an estimated 3.4 million children under five are at high risk of epidemic diseases.” This is combined with malnutrition and a lack of access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, increasing their risk.

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, vehicles and personnel, resulting in significant deaths and injuries.

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 deforestation 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.

Heavy rains from June to August 2024 have caused flooding, damage and displacement throughout the country. More than 130 people died in the seasonal rains. At least 35,520 homes were destroyed, and 45,000 homes were damaged. Nearly 500,000 people were affected, including more than 143,000 people displaced, across 63 locations in 15 states.

The heavy rain also led to the collapse of the Arba’at Dam on Aug. 25, 2024. The dam’s reservoir has a capacity of 883 million cubic feet and it emptied completely, destroying at least 20 villages downstream and affecting 70 others. More than 300,000 people were affected, and 118,000 people were displaced. A large pipeline that provides freshwater to Port Sudan was also damaged and will take months to repair.

Humanitarian actors and philanthropy must engage in a conflict-sensitive manner that utilizes ‘do-no-harm,’ a minimum obligation for any action working in and on conflict. The fighting in Sudan is myriad and requires a deep understanding of the key players, stakeholders and civil society.

The Conflict Sensitivity Facility recently rolled out four top priorities to prevent sustaining the ongoing violence in the country. Priorities include investment in analysis and learnings to ensure short-term access goals do not exacerbate long-term conflict drivers, support for local-level conflict resilience and inter-communal relationships, flexible funding for mutual aid networks and local responders, and aid sector accountability to Sudan’s civilians to ensure long-term prospects for peace and recovery.

To ensure partners and funders not only address immediate humanitarian needs but also contribute towards long-term recovery, remaining conflict-sensitive is vital.

Protection has been an ongoing humanitarian concern in Sudan due to the protracted nature of conflict, displacement and other forms of violence.

According to the Global Protection Cluster (part of the U.N. system): “the protection risks requiring immediate attention are: attacks on civilians and other unlawful killings and attacks on civilian infrastructure; gender-based and conflict related sexual violence; theft, extortion, looting, and destruction of public and personal property; forced child separation compounded by children’s exposure to violence, abuse and neglect, including alleged forced recruitment and trafficking and presence of mines and other explosive ordnances.”

In addition to violation of laws, displacement contributes to and exacerbates protection risks. Displaced populations, including refugees, are particularly vulnerable to violence, exploitation and abuse and therefore require enhanced protection.

Protection concerns are growing, particularly for at-risk groups, including children, women, elderly persons and persons with disabilities.

The conflict has an outsized impact on girls, boys and women, 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.