By Minaz Kerawala, Communications and Public Relations Advisor
In response to the ongoing Sudan hunger crisis, Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada has launched an emergency project in the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan state. Funded by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank and implemented in partnership with Trócaire, the six-month project will provide critical nutrition supplies to thousands of children and pregnant and lactating women.
Sudan hunger crisis: a complex emergency
The Sudan hunger crisis is as intense as it is complex and massive. United Nations agencies estimate that about 25.6 million people―over half of the country’s population―are facing acute hunger. This includes 755,000 people who are on the brink of famine across 10 of Sudan’s 18 states.
Sudan is also experiencing the world’s largest internal displacement crisis. Of the more than 10 million people who have fled their homes, 7.9 million have been displaced within Sudan and more over 2 million have sought refuge in neighbouring countries. Around one in seven of the world’s internally displaced people is now Sudanese.
The starvation and displacement have been caused by many years of communal strife, disease outbreaks, economic and political instability and climate disasters. These pre-existing adversities have been greatly exacerbated by a civil war that has been raging for over 500 days.
In April 2023, fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, headed by General Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo. By May 2024, the conflict had already claimed over 15,500 lives. UN agencies have also noted reports of the widespread targeting of civilians, ethnically motivated killings, abductions and horrific gender-based violence.
Our partners are saving lives…
Such is the situation in which our new project will provide vital lifesaving aid to some of the most marginalized people.
Our outlay of just over $586,000, will allow Trócaire to prevent malnutrition deaths by delivering ready-to-use therapeutic food, supplementary food, therapeutic milk and oral rehydration solution to over 8,700 people at 15 health centres and in their catchment villages in the Nuba Mountains.
The choice of the location is well-considered. The Nuba Mountains, which border South Sudan, were once the hotbed of strife. Recently, however, they become a “haven of relative security,” according to Refugees International, who report that over 700,000 internally displaced people have arrived there since April 2023.
Situating the project in this region allows Trócaire to not only reach the most vulnerable people, but also to do so safely and effectively, leveraging connections and goodwill built up over a 12-year presence in the area.
…but they need more help
As crucial and meaningful as Trócaire work through this project will be, it will come nowhere close to meeting the monumental needs of the Sudanese people. The United Nations’ Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan for 2024 remains nearly 59 per cent underfunded.
In April 2024, Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada had joined civil society organizations including Caritas Africa, Caritas Internationalis, CAFOD, Catholic Relief Services and the Jesuit Refugee Service in issuing a joint statement urging “the international community not to abandon the people of Sudan” and calling for “much greater international humanitarian support to mitigate the enormity of the suffering of the people.”
With our Cooperation Canada partners, we reiterated this message earlier this week in a public statement addressed to Canada’s ministers of foreign affairs and international development.
This call has now become urgent, as has the need for your solidarity and generosity.
