Donors meet in Paris to raise $1 bln for war-torn Sudan
International donors are meeting in Paris to raise up to 1 billion dollars in aid to Sudan, one year after the country has been torn by infighting that left millions facing displacement and hunger.
The gathering by top diplomats and international NGOs takes place in a context where millions are on the verge of famine in Sudan, as the infighting continues.
The civil war broke out when a power struggle between the army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo reached a tipping point.
Efforts to help civilians fend off famine have been complicated by the ongoing fighting and the restrictions imposed by the warring factions.
“It is obvious that the series of crises – I am thinking of Gaza and Ukraine – have pushed the Sudanese crisis into the background”, French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné said at the Paris conference.
Nearly half of Sudan’s 51 million population is in dire need of humanitarian aid. The UN estimates the needs at 2.7 billion dollars. So far, funders have given only $145 million, about 5%, according to the UN’s humanitarian office, known as OCHA.
Amid other raging wars in gaza and Ukraine, little international attention was paid to Sudan, often described by humanitarian workers as one of the worst conflicts in Africa.
“People of Sudan, caught up in this emergency, are almost completely invisible,” Lenarcic said. In a year-long war, Sudan has turned into one of the worst humanitarian disasters ever on the African continent, he said, and added: “It is our duty not to look away.”
Save the Children warned that about 230,000 children, pregnant women, newborns, and mothers in childbirth could die of malnutrition in the coming months.
On the eve of the Paris Conference and the conflict’s first anniversary, the United States announced an additional $100 million in aid to address the ongoing conflict in Sudan.
Samantha Power, the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, who made the announcement said the new funds would be allocated for emergency food assistance, nutritional support, and other critical humanitarian aid.
