Aid freezes and withdrawals leave Sudan’s needy battling famine alone

Sudan is facing a growing humanitarian crisis as relief organisations delivering vital humanitarian aid withdraw.

In the last few days, the freezing of United States humanitarian assistance to the country has resulted in the reported closure of up to 80 percent of Sudan’s emergency food kitchens, while the dramatic scaling down of the presence of medical NGO Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, has led to some of the worst hit parts of the country having no emergency medical cover as violence levels increase.

Sudan’s war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has been ongoing since April 2023. Over the course of the war, tens of thousands of civilians have been killed, many more wounded and an estimated 12 million people displaced.

Famine, according to the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) has already taken hold in more than 10 areas, with a further 17 reported to be on the brink of famine.

Nevertheless, despite the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation, there appears to be no letup in the fighting, with the Sudanese army currently advancing in the capital Khartoum, and the RSF announcing the formation of a rival government.

USAID freeze

US President Donald Trump’s executive order to place a 90-day freeze on USAID payments has therefore come at a time of immense instability for Sudan, where its facilities were a lifeline for millions in need.

The BBC reported that 1,100 communal kitchens had been shut down as a result of the suspension of US foreign aid, and a volunteer at one of the shuttered kitchens said that people had resorted to “knocking on volunteers’ doors”, desperate for help.

Responding to the impact of its decision, the US Department of State claimed to have issued a waiver for “life-saving” food and humanitarian assistance programmes. However, those waivers do not appear to have translated into the resumption of humanitarian assistance to Sudan and many other countries, with the Reuters news agency reporting on Friday that only $100m of exemptions had been approved for USAID programmes, compared with the roughly $40bn the agency previously spent on programmes annually.

In fact, Reuters reported, that most of the $5.3bn in foreign aid released under the waivers were for arms sales, military assistance, and anti-drug smuggling, according to a review of a list of exemptions.

The WFP said that it has received 13 waivers for Sudan-related grants, but is unclear about what will happen to future funding.

Hunger crisis

The WFP has said that Sudan risks becoming the “world’s largest hunger crisis in recent history”, with its brutal civil war destroying livelihoods, infrastructure, trade routes and supply chains across the country. The famine, first confirmed in North Darfur’s Zamzam camp in August, has since spread, with now an estimated 24.6 million people currently facing acute hunger, the UN said.

The situation in North Darfur is particularly critical as its largest city, el-Fasher, has been besieged for months by the RSF, which has escalated its offensives in recent weeks, including by attacking Zamzam camp itself, where approximately half a million people have taken shelter after being displaced by the fighting.

The fighting has forced MSF to withdraw from Zamzam. “Halting our project in the midst of a worsening disaster in Zamzam is a heartbreaking decision,” said Yahya Kalilah, MSF’s Sudan country director.

“The sheer proximity of the violence, great difficulties in sending supplies, the impossibility to send experienced staff for adequate support, and uncertainty regarding routes out of the camp for our colleagues and civilians leave us with little choice.”

RSF government

Despite the humanitarian crisis, much of it caused by the RSF, the group pressed ahead with a ceremony in the Kenyan capital Nairobi marking its intention to establish a rival Sudanese government.

The new government is not expected to receive widespread international recognition. However, as the RSF loses ground elsewhere, it would appear to be an effort to maintain control over the western region of Darfur.

The army-aligned government has refused to recognise its newly formed rival, with Foreign Minister Ali Youssef saying on Sunday that it “will not accept any other country recognising a so-called parallel government”.

Responding to the news, and its potential to cement division within the country, a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed the need for a unified Sudan, telling reporters that the new government would “increase the fragmentation of the country and risk making this crisis even worse”.