World donors pledge millions in aid for Sudan on anniversary of war

France has said that world donors have pledged more than two billion euros in humanitarian aid for Sudan.

European diplomats and aid groups met in Paris in a bid to drum up financial support for the country on the first anniversary of a power struggle that exploded into civil war.

“The first thing that we have to do is to make sure that Sudan is not forgotten,” said EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic.

“The people caught in this emergency are almost completely invisible. Other devastating crises have overtaken the news from around the world… Sudan is in a state of collapse.”

A UN humanitarian campaign aims to raise around $2.7 billion (€2.5 billion) this year to get food, healthcare and other supplies to 24 million people in Sudan – nearly half the population.

But the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says so far funders have given only $145 million (€136 million), representing around 5% of the target.

“One year has passed since the outbreak of conflict in Sudan, which unleashed the catalogue of horrors, a nightmare of bloodshed that has killed over 14,000 people and injured 33,000 more,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Sudan descended into conflict in April 2023 when a simmering power struggle between the army and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group descended into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere across the country.

The UN estimates around 37% of the population suffers from hunger.

Save the Children has warned that 230,000 children, pregnant women and newborn mothers could die of malnutrition in the coming months. 

Nearly nine million people have been forced to flee their homes either to safer areas inside Sudan or to neighbouring countries.