After two years of civil war, Sudan faces the greater humanitarian crisis and of displaced from the world in the contemporary era. Until 150,000 Sudanese have died y 13 million have been forced to leave their homesaccording to the latest estimates of the United Nations. “They flee from violence and conflict, and then run towards hunger“, Explains to Elise Nalbandian newspaper of Oxfam.” We say that this is not precedents until, three months later, it gets worse again, “he adds.
More than 30 million people need humanitarian aid at this time in the country and more than 8 million people are on the verge of famine. On the second anniversary, the civil war, far from appeasing, is intensified. Meanwhile, the country has only achieved 10% of what the UN estimated was the essential budget to address the humanitarian emergency.
Battles and torrential rains
Just three weeks ago, the Armed Forces of Sudan (SAF) resumed control of several areas of the capital, Jartumand of the presidential palace, in a significant turn after almost two years of war against Fast support forces (RSF). The conflict, which It broke out on April 15, 2023has its origin in a power struggle between these two factions. After the fall in 2019 of the former president Omar Al Bashir, Sudan began a political transition but Disputes for the distribution of power They resulted in a civil war that continues to this day.
Despite the recent advances of the army, the fighting continue in areas of southern Jartum and in other strategic regions of the country, such as Darfur del Nortewhere the RSF recently captured a key position, cutting a supply line Towards the besieged city of El Pasher.
Meanwhile, the population looks at the sky, anticipating a disastrous torrential rainy season. “We are worried that access to populations will be lost even more”, Explains to this newspaper Esperanza Santos, Emergency Coordinator in Sudan of Physicians Without Borders (MSF), one of the few international organizations that continues to work within the country.
In the middle of a war, nobody repairs damage to bridges and roads, essential infrastructure razed by the storms. “When there are floods there is more malnutrition, more diseases for contaminated water transmission And, with massive displacements at the same time, all these components are given for a very large risk of epidemics, ”he adds, with visible concern. “Measles has already become an epidemic in Darfur And many other areas of Sudan because we have been conflict for two years No vaccination services In conditions, ”he says, and points out that they obtain drugs intermittently but that, even when they arrive, they meet many health centers that are not functional and cannot administer them.
Crisis regional
Egypt is the country that most Sudanese refugees They have arrived and the most stable of the residents of Sudan, from where the High Commissioner for UN refugees works (ACNUR), with the particularity that the Egyptian government has a policy that He does not commit refugee fields, but for integration With the local community. “In the border steps we provide humanitarian aid as soon as we arrive but our goal is the accompaniment in the reception community,” explains to this newspaper the head of external relations of the High Commissioner for UN refugees (UNHCR) in Egypt, Jaime Giménez.
It is estimated that there is Between 3 and 5 million Sudanese in Egyptaccording to official data. Once inside the country, refugees are free to move. “The vast majority decides to go to the big cities like Cairo or Alexandria, where it is more likely to find a job”, Says, although the conditions are precarious for many of them.
The options are worse in the other neighboring countries. In South Sudan and Chadmore than 280,000 refugees remain trapped in improvised settlementsin overcrowding conditions, with a lack of drinking water and extremely precarious medical care. The lack of schooling is one of the indicators that the conflict can be perpetuated. In Chad, more than 90% of children lack access to education. The impact on young people includes a greater risk of recruitment by armed groups, traffic and exploitation.
USA withdraws funds
When Sudan was already at its worst, the country was affected by the World Suspension of Financing of the US Agency for International Development (USAID, acronym in English). The massive fund cuts, including the suspension of 64 million dollars in American aid for Chad and South Sudan, are further compromising the humanitarian response in the region. In 2024, the US had been the main donor of both countries.
“Help is contracting. We are doing skeletal job. We simply try to save their lives. There is no long -term planning. All we can do is make sure they don’t die”, Says Nalbandian, from Oxfam.“ Humanitarian aid is an ecosystem. If a person retires, the other who does not have the financing cannot intervene, ”he concludes.
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