UN urges aid funding for war-torn Sudan

The UN called on nations on Wednesday to remember the civilians impacted by the conflict in Sudan and requested $4.1 billion to address their humanitarian needs and assist those who have fled to neighboring countries. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudan’s armed forces have been engaged in a ten-month battle that has destroyed the nation’s infrastructure, sparked famine warnings, and resulted in the displacement of millions of people both inside and outside of Sudan. Around 25 million people, or half of Sudan’s population, are in need of humanitarian aid and protection, and the United Nations reports that over 1.5 million have fled to South Sudan, Ethiopia, the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, and Ethiopia. “Sudan keeps getting forgotten by the international community,” UN aid chief Martin Griffiths told diplomats at the United Nations in Geneva. “There is a certain kind of obscenity about the humanitarian world, which is the competition of suffering, a competition between places: ‘I have more suffering than you, so I need to get more attention, so I need to get more money.’” As part of the appeal, the UN refugee agency requested $1.4 billion to sustain around 2.7 million refugees in five neighboring countries of Sudan. Less than half of OCHA’s request for funding to help civilians in Sudan last year was granted. Griffiths stated that there was a greater need for the international community to respond. “We must not forget Sudan. That’s the simple message that I have to say today,” he said. (With agency inputs)