Sudan: High-income countries must use Berlin meeting to save lives as conflict hits three-year mark   

International donors attending the aid conference for Sudan must secure increased funding and pressure warring parties to ensure unhindered humanitarian access to allow lifesaving healthcare services to be delivered in the country to civilians, including survivors of sexual violence, Amnesty International said today, ahead of the International Ministerial Conference on Sudan in Berlin on 15 April.

As aid has declined in Sudan, the needs have only increased. Behind these numbers are real lives, real people who have lost their homes, loved ones and livelihoods, who are fighting to survive the war and the disease and hunger it brings

Tigere Chagutah, Regional Director, Amnesty International, ESARO

Three years of conflict between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and their respective allies have created a humanitarian and health crisis in Sudan, with more than 33 million people in need of assistance. Yet, ongoing cuts to international foreign aid are threatening efforts to tackle a host of grave health risks, including malnutrition, cholera, trauma and injury.

“As aid has declined in Sudan, the needs have only increased. Behind these numbers are real lives, real people who have lost their homes, loved ones and livelihoods, who are fighting to survive the war and the disease and hunger it brings,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and South Africa.

“The Berlin meeting must not be another talking shop. International donors must seize this opportunity to commit more funding to frontline non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in Sudan. They must recognize the terrible suffering of civilians and take meaningful action to alleviate it.

This urgently needed donor funding must be matched with redoubled diplomatic efforts by the international community to protect civilians – including humanitarians, health workers and local responders – and to push for accountability and justice for violations across Sudan”

Dire consequences of precarious funding

In late 2025, Amnesty International spoke to seven NGOs which either directly provide services – ranging from fuel deliveries to hospitals, to post-rape care for children in Sudan – or monitor human rights violations. Amnesty International also interviewed many people who had fled the country.

All the NGOs said insufficient funding had disrupted their operations – either forcing them to shut down or reduce their workforce. Some were lacking basic medicines, such as painkillers and antibiotics. For one international NGO (INGO), a limited supply of antibiotics led to tough decisions about who to prioritize for care.

The Berlin meeting must not be another talking shop. International donors must seize this opportunity to commit more funding to frontline non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in Sudan. They must recognize the terrible suffering of civilians and take meaningful action to alleviate it.

Tigere Chagutah

One INGO told Amnesty International that it is in desperate need for ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), a nutrient dense paste designed to treat children with severe acute malnutrition, and that it can only meet the needs of 50 per cent of the cases.  CARE International estimates that up to 80 per cent of community kitchens have closed due to aid cuts, further worsening the malnutrition crisis.

Women and children disproportionately impacted

Health services for survivors of the widespread sexual violence that has been committed by all parties to the conflict has been significantly affected by aid cuts.

One women’s rights defender and activist told Amnesty International that grassroots groups had already been receiving very little lifesaving funding: “And then, after the funding cuts and setbacks to donor commitments, they are getting nothing. And that has influenced the fact that hundreds of women and little girls are being abandoned completely.”

She described access to sexual reproductive healthcare as “chaos” and said that, for survivors of sexual violence with traumatic fistula, the situation is “beyond painful.”

The escalating conflict in Sudan has caused over 4.5 million people to flee to neighbouring countries. In February, the United Nations issued an appeal for US$1.6 billion to support refugees across the region.

And then, after the funding cuts and setbacks to donor commitments, they are getting nothing. And that has influenced the fact that hundreds of women and little girls are being abandoned completely.

Activist

Some of the most at risk among them are children and adults with disabilities. Many living in displacement camps in Chad told Amnesty International of their struggles to access education and healthcare, as well as the wheelchairs and other devices that they need to move around

Yagoub*, 17, now walks with a crutch and has limited mobility after having been shot in the leg by the RSF in his village in North Darfur. He told Amnesty International he could not afford to pay for surgery to remove the shrapnel still lodged in his body: “[The medical staff] referred me to an advanced hospital… to do [an] x-ray and ultrasound… I need a lot of money… According to my previous consultation, surgery costs about 5 million Sudanese pounds (US$ 1,470).”

Yagoub said he could not go to school because it would take 10 to 20 minutes of walking to get there and he had no assistance to help him reach it.

Makawi*, a 15-year-old boy with what appears to be cerebral palsy, fled North Darfur while carried on his grandmother’s back. Without a wheelchair he cannot manoeuvre around the refugee camp in Chad where he now lives. There are no toilets or showers near the tent he shares with his grandmother: “If I need to go [to the toilet] at night, it is almost impossible.”

Makawi dreams of going to school, but it is a struggle to reach the school and too costly.

Political commitments must translate to increased aid

For NGOs working in Sudan, working on healthcare in a conflict can be complex and costly. Start-and-stop funding by donors has made it especially hard. NGOs explained that programmes must be planned months in advance, because bank systems have collapsed, and transport and security are hard to come by.

The picture described is one of scarcity and widespread violations of the rights to health and life. As one INGO leader said: “You will find the organizations still existing on the ground. But if you talk about, are you able to get enough supplies to support these facilities? My answer would be no. Are you able to get enough nutritional food for these health facilities? I will say no. Are you able to get enough immunizations or the vaccines for these facilities? My answer will be no… We don’t know what will happen tomorrow.”

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, US funding for Sudan’s coordinated humanitarian plan halved between 2024 and 2025, and in 2025 less than 40% of the plan was financed by all donors.

In a welcome decision, following an Independent Commission for Aid Impact report on UK funding in Sudan, the UK foreign office recently prioritized Sudan and a focus on women and girls, but there remain questions around how these commitments will be delivered against a backdrop of drastic cuts to UK development staff and programs.

“It is vital that human rights, including the rights to food, health, housing, education, and water for millions of civilians are upheld despite the escalating conflict. To realise these rights, donors must urgently ensure sufficient international aid to meet essential immediate needs while also taking other longer term necessary measures such as debt relief including cancellation, to allow Sudan to spend more on vital public goods and services,” Said Tigere Chagutah

For decades, high-income states have had high level political commitments to allocate at least 0.7 per cent of their Gross National Income to overseas aid and, under international human rights law and standards, many states also have extraterritorial obligations to guarantee human rights. This commitment should translate to increased humanitarian aid for Sudanese NGOs to enable them respond to health emergencies.

Sudan, like other highly aid dependent countries in protracted conflicts, need the international community to act.

• Names have been changed to protect identities of the interviewees

More reading

https://www.amnesty.eu/news/eu-must-act-for-sudans-civilians-three-years-of-conflict/

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