Following a year-long battle that has left the people of Sudan on the edge of starvation, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that foreign donors have committed over $2.1 billion in humanitarian assistance for the country.
Macron made the declaration at the end of an international conference in Paris aimed at mobilising support for the 51 million people living in Sudan. Although he did not provide an exact date for the disbursement of the money, it will be used for basic needs including food, water, medicine, and other pressing needs.
During Monday’s conference, which included representatives from 58 countries, there was a collective call for regional powers to cease their financial support for the ongoing conflict in Sudan. Macron suggested that the total funds raised during the conference were likely insufficient compared to the resources provided by certain powers to fuel the proxy conflict in Sudan. He said, ’’The amount we raised today remains probably less than all the money raised by several powers’’.
The yearlong war in Sudan has resulted in the deaths of over 14,000 individuals and left at least 33,000 others injured. Furthermore, nearly 9 million people have been displaced, seeking refuge either within Sudan or in neighboring countries, according to reports from the United Nations. The situation has led to widespread hunger, sexual violence against women and girls, and ongoing displacement. Much of the country’s vital infrastructure, including homes, hospitals, and schools, has been devastated, reduced to rubble by the conflict.
“We cannot let this nightmare slide from view,” Guterres said in a video message to the Paris conference.
“It’s time to support the Sudanese people. It’s time to silence the guns,” he added.
Efforts initially led by the United States and Saudi Arabia to seek a negotiated resolution to the conflict have been overshadowed since October by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which poses a threat of escalating into a wider regional conflict.
Meanwhile, relief workers caution that Sudan is rapidly approaching the brink of mass fatalities in the coming months. Essential food production and distribution networks have collapsed, and humanitarian organisations are unable to access the most severely affected areas.
The conflict, which has led to killings, displacement and rape has led to hunger and malnutrition, with at least 37% of the population suffering from hunger, according to OCHA.
Save the Children issued a warning that approximately 230,000 children, along with pregnant women and new mothers, are at risk of succumbing to malnutrition in the upcoming months.
“Famine is a reality in Sudan,” said Abdallah al-Dardari, a regional director of the U.N. Development Program.
The commitment of over $2.1 billion in aid from foreign donors, as announced by French President Emmanuel Macron, marks a significant step towards addressing the urgent needs of the Sudanese people.
Melissa Enoch
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