UN Agencies Issue Urgent Warning That Sudan's Humanitarian Aid Network Faces Imminent Collapse

A Sudanese girl receives an oral cholera vaccine during a vaccination campaign conducted by health ministry workers in Khartoum, Sudan.

Sudan’s critical aid network is facing the threat of total collapse, the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM) has urgently warned. Ongoing fighting, severe heavy rains, and continuous displacement are converging to bring an "imminent end" to Sudan’s emergency relief supplies delivered via the IOM’s Common Humanitarian Pipeline, the agency announced on Monday.

The devastating war between the Sudanese army and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which began in April 2023, has resulted in the deaths of more than 200,000 people according to aid worker estimates, while also creating the world's largest hunger and displacement crisis. However, amidst a sharp and alarming cutback in global aid funding, vital resources are dangerously stretched.

"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," stated Amy Pope, the director general of the IOM. "We simply can’t turn our back on the people of Sudan when they need us most amid raging conflict, increased displacement and the impact of heavy rain," she added.

The IOM cautioned that unless immediate donor support is secured, essential shelter and aid relief supplies are projected to be completely depleted by the end of the month. Furthermore, the operational capacity of the warehouses keeping the pipeline functioning can only be sustained until the end of the year.

Currently, a total of 8.6 million people remain internally displaced throughout Sudan, with ongoing violence, floods, and heavy rains continuously damaging shelters and forcing vulnerable populations to relocate, the organization reported. The IOM noted that its network, which comprises nearly 100 national and international NGOs, has successfully supplied aid to 2.8 million people since July 2023. Nevertheless, its operational reach has steadily shrunk due to falling funds, even as humanitarian needs remain at an all-time high.

The financial cost required to keep the IOM system running for a full year to support 305,000 people stands at $15m, and the agency requires $42m just to return to the previous level of aid it provided in 2024.

Funding for Sudan at the World Food Programme (WFP) has also plummeted, dropping by approximately half this year, its acting head informed the Reuters news agency. Executive Director Carl Skau pointed out that while access previously represented the humanitarian community's largest obstacle, today "we have [a] presence that we are not fully utilising because of the lack of funding". Last year, the WFP received $645m in funds, but so far this year, funding has only reached $206m.

Meanwhile, as the conflict persists, at least four civilians lost their lives and several others sustained injuries overnight during RSF drone attacks targeting Damazin, the capital of the Blue Nile region, a senior Sudanese military official revealed to Al Jazeera. The official confirmed that the strikes specifically targeted civilian infrastructure and fuel stations owned by civilians.