Despite the fierce fighting and the risk of civil war, aid organizations want to continue working in Sudan. “The outcome of the current war and the consequences for the state structure of Sudan are not yet foreseeable,” a spokesman for “Brot für die Welt” told the newspapers of the Bayern media group. But we will rise to the challenge.
The United Nations refugee agency UN-Habitat also said: “The UN-Habitat team is still in Sudan.” The child refugee aid Unicef also continues to have its employees on site.
However, the German Development Ministry fears that a large part of the work will have to be stopped. Up to the outbreak of armed conflict on April 15, the support provided by the partners in Sudan was successful. “Since the outbreak of fighting in the capital Khartoum and other parts of the country, our partners have largely had to stop their work in order not to endanger the safety of the employees,” said a ministry spokesman for the Bayern media group.
In total, the Development Ministry made around 110 million euros available to support the population in 2022. According to the information, the largest part is implemented non-governmentally via Unicef and the World Food Program.
According to the UN, more than a third of the population, 16 million people, were dependent on humanitarian aid even before the fighting broke out. The fighting prevented people from accessing essential supplies, especially in cities, and aggravated the precarious situation. UN organizations and their partners have had to temporarily suspend many aid programs in Sudan due to the violence, it said. Around four million children and pregnant and breastfeeding women are severely malnourished.