UK nearly doubles aid package for war-torn Sudan to $112m

The UK government has pledged to double its support to Sudan to £89 million ($112 million) to help the nation cope with a deepening humanitarian crisis sparked by a year-long war.

The aid package was announced as Africa minister Andrew Mitchell visited the Sudan-Chad border, a crossing point for Sudanese refugees fleeing the violence.

Sudan was plunged into chaos last April when clashes erupted in the capital, Khartoum, between rival forces – the country’s military, led by Gen Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary faction, commanded by Gen Mohamed Dagalo.

The conflict has left 25 million people – more than half of Sudan’s population – in need.

The African nation is at risk of famine this year, the UN has warned.

Sudan tops the International Rescue Committee’s emergency watchlist, which looks at countries most likely to experience a deteriorating humanitarian crisis, because of the escalating conflict, mass displacement, an economic crisis and a near collapse of healthcare services.

The extra UK aid will include funding to Unicef, which will provide emergency and food supplies to people particularly in hard-to-access areas, including for 500,000 children under five, according to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

An extra £4.95 million will provide 100,000 women and girls with a range of services for health and to deal with child marriage and gender-based violence.

It is part of an £89 million UK aid package for Sudan in 2024-25 – up from nearly £50 million in the current financial year.

Displaced people in Sudan – in pictures

Children who fled Sudan’s Khartoum and Jazira states to escape the civil war are living in a camp for the internally displaced in Gadaref state. All photos: AFP

After nearly a year of war, Sudan is suffering one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history, the UN has warned

There has barely been any let up in the fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF)

The UN said about 730,000 children in Sudan, including more than 240,000 in Darfur, are believed to be suffering from severe acute malnutrition

About eight million people have been displaced by the war, which has destroyed the nation’s infrastructure

Many are stuck in tented camps like this one in Gadaref. The UN said 18 million of Sudan’s 48 million people are acutely food insecure, five million of whom have reached the last level before famine

The Security Council this month called for an immediate ceasefire during Ramadan and better access to humanitarian aid

‘Since then, I regret to report that there has not been major progress on the ground,’ said Edem Wosornu, a UN director of humanitarian operations

Meanwhile, heavy fighting continues in what has become a war of attrition

But much suffering prevails among the internally displaced

Relief operations are ‘severely hampered’ by a lack of access and resources, the UN said

The UN also called on regional powers to stop supplying arms to the warring parties in Sudan immediately, but there is no end in sight to the brutal civil war

“The conflict in Sudan is costing devastating lives,” Mr Mitchell said. “Millions are displaced and facing catastrophic hunger conditions.

“There is growing evidence of atrocities against civilians. The package announced today will help save lives.

“We have not forgotten the war in Sudan – nor must the world. The urgent priority is to end the violence.”