In April 2023, fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), headed by General Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo. The two factions, roughly divided along ethnic lines, are jockeying for control of the country and its resources.
The resulting dislocation of an estimated 10.7 million people has made Sudan’s the largest internal displacement crisis in the world. Even before the outbreak of the present conflict, Sudan was facing a humanitarian crisis due to communal strife, disease outbreaks, economic and political instability and climate shocks. The country was also hosting more than a million refugees, most of whom were fleeing from South Sudan and Northern Ethiopia, where the repercussions of the Tigray conflict are still unfolding.
The SAF-RSF conflict, which started in the capital, Khartoum, spread to more regions of the country, including the breadbasket Al Jazirah state. This has exacerbated Sudan’s food crisis, with more than half the population (nearly 26 million people) facing crisis-level or worse food insecurity, a full-blown famine underway in North Darfur and a further 13 areas of country at risk of famine. Reliable access to food is urgently needed, in addition to water, shelter, healthcare and other basic services.
The UN’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan has found that the “warring parties have committed an appalling range of harrowing human rights violations and international crimes” and have “also targeted civilians – as well as those assisting survivors or documenting violations – through rape and other forms of sexual violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, as well as torture and ill-treatment.” In the Darfur region, the mass killing and displacement of non-Arab communities have led to reports of ethnic cleansing.
With funding from Global Affairs Canada, Development and Peace — Caritas Canada and its partners implemented a two-year project (2022-2024) in Tunaydbah Refugee camp in Al Qadarif State, reaching 12,500 Ethiopian refugee women, men and children. A comprehensive package of services was provided to at-risk refugees and survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) in a women’s and girls’ safe space and community centre, including psychological support and referrals, life skills and recreational activities, and cash assistance. The project also focussed on preventing GBV and reducing other risks in the community through outreach activities, awareness campaigns and protection-focused multi-sector services such as the provision of energy kits (fuel-efficient cooking stoves and portable solar lights) and essential hygiene and sanitation products (including menstrual products).
To help people address immediate critical food needs at the outbreak of the war in mid-2023, Development and Peace — Caritas Canada provided cash assistance to 2,148 persons (1,117 female; 1,031 male), including returnees, members of the host communities and internally displaced individuals, in South Kordofan State.
Grants from Global Affairs Canada and funding from Canadian Foodgrains Bank are allowing Development and Peace — Caritas Canada to continue addressing the acute hunger crisis by scaling up its response in South Kordofan. In partnership with Trócaire, we will provide nutrition supplies to 17 heath facilities to treat children under the age of 5 (41,002 girls; 37,848 boys) and 6,535 pregnant and lactating women diagnosed with moderate to severe acute malnutrition. Community health volunteers will play key roles in community mobilization and nutrition education by screening malnourished people and referring them to the nearest health facility or outreach sites for further assessment and management.
With Sudan receiving too little attention from the international community, Development and Peace — Caritas Canada will continue working with local and Canadian partners to advocate for urgent humanitarian action and durable solutions to the crisis. We join Caritas Internationalis, the World Council of Churches and Jesuit Refugee Service in asking all parties to:
We are also among the Cooperation Canada agencies that have issued a joint public statement addressed to Canada’s ministers of foreign affairs and international development. It calls the Government of Canada to increase diplomatic engagement in the pursuit of a ceasefire and a durable political settlement; support the participation of Sudanese civil society groups in the peace process; increase funding for humanitarian assistance; apply diplomatic pressure to increase humanitarian access; adopt a nexus approach that accounts for immediate and anticipated needs; and focus more sharply on protecting children, girls and women.
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Development and Peace — Caritas Canada is the official international solidarity organization of the Catholic Church in Canada and the Canadian member of Caritas Internationalis.
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