SUDAN'S HUMANITARIAN CRISIS, EXPLAINED

After the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began fighting on April 15, 2023, the country was literally dragged into a humanitarian disaster. Three years have passed,Sudan is now struggling to stand. About 12 million people had to leave their homes. More than 33 million people could not live without help. For millions of people, hunger and famine is no longer a remote possibility, it is a fact that they are in themselves. The healthcare system is almost completely bankrupt, most of the hospitals are closed, cholera, dengue fever and malaria spread everywhere. The economy was already fragile, now it isliterally collapsed. Fuel and food prices have increased so much that the process has become almost impossible for organizations that want to reach people in need and deliver help to them. Behind all this chaos, there is actually a very familiar story: The power struggle. After the overthrown dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who led the army, and the leader of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo(Hemedti), were first ally, then became enemies. When Burhan tried to completely include the RSF in the army, Hemedti raised the flag of rebellion. Ceasefire attempts have been attempted countless times, the US, Saudi Arabia, the African Union and other countries have tried to mediate, but the war has not stopped. The UN saw "signs of genocide" in the actions of the RSF, especially in Darfur and El Fasher, and openly condemned them. The US announced that the RSF had committed a genocide crime in 2025 and imposed sanctions on both Hemedti and companies in the UAE. The humanitarian picture in Sudan is getting worse every day. Two-thirds of the population is in need of help. Most of those displaced are women and children; again, most of them take refuge either in other places in Sudan or in neighboring countries. In the camps in Chad, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Egypt and Ethiopia, refugees are struggling with serious difficulties, hunger and danger of violence. Ethnic cleansing, sexual violence and heavy human rights violations against the Masalit people in West Darfur reveal the extent of the war. Neighboring countries, on the other hand, cannot keep up with this huge wave of migration because they are struggling with their own problems. Chad and the Central African Republic are in full need of international help. Refugees in Egypt are in danger of being deported or arrested at any time. The international dimension of the war is also quite complicated. Egypt supports SAF; Russia, UAE and Haftar in Libya are on the side of RSF. There are many who say that Iran and Ethiopia also have indirect support. All this does not limit the conflict in Sudan to the borders of the country. Trade routes in the Red Sea, the waters of the Nile, and the oil pipelines in the region are also at risk. When combined with climate change, it's just a matter of time for more people to get home. International organisations – the UN, the World Food Programme, the International Red Cross and local NGOs – are trying to do their best, but to be honest, very little of the money can be collected. Only 17 percent of the humanitarian aid projected for 2026 has been funded. Due to security issues, aid does not reach most places; in areas controlled by RSF, almost no one can take aid. Experts currently describe Sudan as “the worst humanitarian disaster in the world”. As the war continues every day, the number of people who die from hunger and disease increases. CFR expert Sam Vigersky briefly says, "Sudan is remembered for the biggest displacement crisis, the heaviest hunger and the most terrible humanitarian disaster." But the world is so busy with other crises that Sudan is almost completely forgotten. Global economic troubles and indifference leave millions of people out of sight. While people are trying to hold on to life, the silence of the international community makes this tragedy even more painful. 

RESOURCES: Ferragamo, M., & Roy, D. (2026, April 14). Sudan’s humanitarian crisis, explained. Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.cfr.org/articles/what-extent-sudans-humanitarian-crisis