Sudan aid supplies could run out this month, says UN sounding alarm over funding crisis

Sudan’s humanitarian aid system could collapse within weeks without urgent funding as millions remain displaced by war, UN agencies have warned.

The conflict between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which began in April 2023, has killed more than 200,000 people, according to aid worker estimates, and created a major hunger and displacement crisis.

“The entire humanitarian system could collapse within weeks if we don’t act now. Without new funding, we won’t be able to get help where it’s needed most,” International Organization for Migration director general Amy Pope said in a statement.

The IOM warned that shelter and emergency relief supplies could be depleted by the end of September without immediate donor support.

About 8.6 million people remain internally displaced, while violence, flooding and heavy rain continue to force people from their homes.

The agency said its network of nearly 100 NGOs has assisted 2.8 million people since July 2023, but its reach is shrinking as funding falls.

The World Food Programme is facing similar pressure.

Acting executive director Carl Skau told Reuters funding had fallen from $645 million last year to $206 million so far this year.

“We have [a] presence that we are not fully utilising because of the lack of funding,” Skau said.