International donors pledge $1.5 billion in humanitarian support for Sudan

Africa, News June 20, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

International donors have committed $1.5 billion in an UN-led appeal to help the people of Sudan on June 19, 2023. The African nation is suffering from one of the worst humanitarian crises and descending into “death and destruction”.

The United Nations organized a meeting aimed at addressing the catastrophic humanitarian crisis that has risen in Sudan as a result of the ongoing internal war. Despite raising millions of dollars, less than 16 percent of the required $2.57 billion of funds were collected.

The High-Level Pledging Event for Sudan was hosted by the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Geneva. Representatives from Egypt, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United States, European Union, and African Union participated in the event to pledge financial support for Sudan and to discuss the rising humanitarian crisis in the region.

During his opening remarks, Guterres said, “The scale and speed of Sudan’s descent into death and destruction is unprecedented.” He added that “Without strong international support, Sudan could quickly become a locus of lawlessness, radiating insecurity across the region. I appeal to you all today to provide funding to deliver life-saving humanitarian aid and support to people living in the most difficult and dangerous conditions.”

⚠️ Half of the people in #Sudan are in dire need of humanitarian assistance.

Immediate aid efforts began at the onset of the crisis but a scaled-up response is needed to save lives. This will require significant additional funding 👉 https://t.co/JRAypHDJ49 #InvestInHumanity pic.twitter.com/F1aC6vIKS4
— UN Humanitarian (@UNOCHA) June 19, 2023

According to the United Nations, the civil war has directly affected the lives of more than 24.7 million Sudanese people, which account for more than half of the country’s population. More than 2.2 million people fled Sudan into the neighboring countries while millions were left stranded in the middle of an ongoing armed conflict.

The war between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary, Rapid Support Forces, has so far resulted in the deaths of more than 3000 people. The United Nations predicts that no less than $2.57 billion of funds are required to facilitate the Sudanese population and to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis, however, the UN has only been able to raise less than 16% of the required funds so far.

*^{UN Secretary-General António Guterres addresses an emergency session of the UN Security Council on Sudan at UN headquarters in New York. (Image Credit: UN/Manuel Elías)}*

During the High-Level Pledging Event, Germany’s minister of state at the Federal Foreign Office, Katja Keul, announced that his country would provide $218 million in humanitarian assistance until 2024. Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani pledged $50 million from his country while the United States representative pledged $171 million in funding.

In a separate event, the high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell said that the EU is providing $21.8 million to Egypt to cope with the high influx of Sudanese refugees in the country. Borrell is in Cairo for a state visit.

Situation in Sudan

The power struggle between the two-armed institution turned into a deadly civil war in April this year. The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF) are fighting to seize power.

The conflict between the warring sides has turned Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, and other major urban cities into active battlefields. Both sides have occupied people’s houses and other civilian properties to set up military bases, forcing thousands of people into homelessness. The situation is particularly worse in the West Darfur region, which has experienced some of the worst violence with tens of thousands of residents fleeing to neighboring Chad.