Once known for its cultural wealth and resilience, Sudan is now a place where the sound of gunfire regularly replaces the call to prayer, and silence falls heavy over homes left empty. Yet, even amid the rubble and ruin, resilience endures.
“Right now, there are children who have been displaced, families torn apart, and people who have died far away from their loved ones,” says Rania Mohamed, who was forced to leave her home in Al Jazirah State due to the fighting. “We are experiencing immense suffering as citizens.”
15 April 2025 marks a grim milestone for Sudan: two years has spiralled into one of the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophes.
More than 700 days of a deepening humanitarian crisis have battered this nation: people displaced, cities in ruins, and systems on the brink of total collapse.
The conflict has decimated infrastructure, halted public services, and fractured communities, with critical transport routes and essential services barely functioning. With the rainy season on the horizon, further flooding threatens to cut off aid corridors, compounding the suffering.
In East Darfur state, Sudanese Red Crescent volunteers oversee the distribution of essential supplies for people who had to flee violence and leave everything behind.
Photo: Sudanese Red Crescent Society
Urgent need for support
To respond to the unprecedented needs, the IFRC launched two emergency appeals; 80 million Swiss francs for the Sudan Complex Emergency Appeal and 47.5 million Swiss francs for the Regional Population Movement Appeal supporting displaced populations in neighbouring countries.
These appeals aim to support Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) efforts to sustain vital services and scale-up humanitarian operations amidst growing needs, logistical challenges, and escalating violence.
“We are calling on the international community to help restore our operational capacity—so we can continue to reach those who need us most,” said Mrs. Aida Al-Sayed Abdullah, Secretary General of the Sudanese Red Crescent Society. “The needs are immense, and we cannot do this alone.”
Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) health staff offers free medical care at clinics for displaced people in River Nile State.
Photo: Sudanese Red Crescent Society
A nation displaced
Meanwhile, the needs continue to mount. Sudan is now home to the world’s largest displacement crisis. More than 12.6 million people have fled their homes, with 8.6 million internally displaced and another 3.8 million crossing into neighbouring countries like Chad, South Sudan, Egypt, Uganda and Ethiopia.
Present in all 18 states with nearly 12,000 active volunteers, the SRCS has been a lifeline to communities. Despite immense operational challenges and direct threats to their safety, including the tragic deaths of SRCS staff and volunteers, they have reached over 7.5 million people. They continue to provide lifesaving assistance, including food, water, psychosocial support, and dignified burials.
Tragically, humanitarian workers providing those life-saving services have been injured and even killed while working to save the lives of others.
“Since the outbreak of fighting, [the SRCS has] been gravely impacted,” the secretary general added. “We have lost volunteers and staff members—humanitarian workers who died while serving their communities.
“Our headquarters and many branch offices have been damaged or destroyed. Ambulances, vehicles, medical equipment, and warehouses have been looted or lost. Yet, despite these enormous challenges, we remain on the ground, working under dangerous and exhausting conditions, but we have not stopped.”
For this reason, the IFRC has repeatedly called on all parties to the conflict to respect International Humanitarian Law and protect humanitarian workers. Without such protection, the ability to deliver aid remains dangerously constrained.
In Sennar State, Sudanese Red Crescent volunteers distribute food baskets for people displaced by fighting. The food packages were provided in cooperation with the Qatar Red Crescent.
Photo: Sudanese Red Crescent Society
Humanitarian needs at alarming levels
According to the United Nations' Organization for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, over two-thirds of Sudan’s population—some 30.4 million people—need humanitarian assistance. Half of them are children. In conflict-ravaged areas like Darfur and Al Jazirah, the situation is particularly acute.
SRCS volunteers on the ground report families going days without food, relying on contaminated water sources, and surviving in overcrowded displacement camps like Zamzam in North Darfur, now swelling to over 500,000 people.
Gasim El Basheer, an internally displaced person from Al Jazirah State, says: “There are so many issues that need greater attention—displacement, hunger, missing persons. This war has taken too much.”
Millions of people now face acute food insecurity, violence, destruction of farmland, and disruption of trade routes have devastated food production. “Eighty percent of the population relies on agriculture and livestock,” says a local SRCS representative, “but the conflict has taken away their land, their tools, and their hope.”
Sudanese Red Crescent personnel check in on patients during cholera control in White Nile state.
Photo: Sudanese Red Crescent Society
Health systems on the edge
The health system has also been ravaged. Up to 80 percent of health facilities are non-functional in conflict affected areas, and those that remain open are stretched beyond capacity with shortages of staff, medicine, and even electricity.
Cholera, dengue, measles, and malaria are surging. In 2024, 12 States battled multiple epidemics. By March 2025, over 58,000 cholera cases were recorded, fuelled by flooding, poor sanitation, and overcrowding.
Volunteer Hawa Eizaldeen Abdallah Hamed reflects: “Before the displacement, there were no diseases like cholera. Now they’re everywhere.”
Sudanese Red Crescent personnel inspect latrines recently Installed in Blue Nile state in cooperation with the German Red Cross.
Photo: Sudanese Red Crescent Society
Widespread protection risks
The conflict has also triggered a protection emergency. Gender-based violence, including rape and sexual exploitation, is widespread. Children have been recruited into armed groups, subjected to early and forced marriage, or denied access to education, as up to 90 per cent of schools remain closed. Many displaced children are unaccompanied or separated from families.
The SRCS is providing critical protection services, reaching over 650,000 people with safe spaces, psychosocial support, dignity kits, and referrals for survivors of violence. However, the needs continue to outpace the available resources.
Despite immense challenges, the unwavering dedication of Sudanese Red Crescent volunteers offers a glimmer of hope.
“They are from the communities they serve,” notes Thierry Balloy IFRC Head of Delegation, Sudan and Eritrea. “They know the terrain, the people, and the needs better than anyone. They are the first in and the last out.”
