Attachments
CRISIS IMPACT OVERVIEW
Thematic Report 13 March 2025
The war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that began in April 2023 has left 30.4 million people in need, including 15.6 million children, and more than 12.8 million people displaced both internally and to neighbouring countries (UNCHR accessed 07/03/2025; UNICEF 20/02/2025; OCHA 31/12/2024). The war has affected essential services, especially healthcare, and caused an economic crisis marked by high inflation, disruptions in market supply, cash shortages, and destruction of livelihoods. People are in critical need of health, nutrition, WASH, and protection services, including for children, gender-based violence (GBV), mine action, and education, with 17 million children out of school (UNICEF 20/02/2025; OCHA 31/12/2024). By 24 December 2024, 26.4 million people were facing acute food insecurity, including over 630,000 facing Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) levels, ten areas projected to be in Famine (IPC Phase 5), and the risk of famine identified in 17 additional locations (WFP accessed 21/02/2025; IPC 24/12/2024).
On 20 January 2025, the Trump administration ordered a global 90-day pause on US foreign development assistance, including stop-work orders (SWOs) for humanitarian aid (The White House 20/01/2025). On 28 January, the administration issued a waiver for lifesaving humanitarian assistance activities, including medicine, food, and shelter (USDoS 28/01/2025). The waiver’s lack of clarity and the continued funding freeze have meant, however, that many critical and lifesaving programmes have been halted across Sudan, even those granted a waiver. While initially indicated as a pause, on 10 March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on X that 5,200 United States Agency for International Development (USAID) global contracts would be officially cancelled and only 1,000 would continue (Rubio X 10/03/2025).
Since the SWOs came into effect, the humanitarian response in Sudan has been significantly affected. UN organisations, INGOs, national NGOs (NNGOs), and community responders, including initiatives such as Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs), have been forced to terminate staff, reduce hours, and cut essential and lifesaving programmes in the wake of the funding pause and subsequent cuts. In 2024, the US was Sudan’s largest humanitarian donor, providing nearly 44% of all humanitarian funding, including for food security, nutrition, multisector response, health, and WASH (OCHA accessed 07/03/2025). For 2025, USAID had already committed USD 125.6 million, amounting to 44% of funding received by 11 March (OCHA accessed 10/03/2025). Beyond the numbers, USAID was also one of the more flexible humanitarian funders, facilitating essential administrative and support costs and providing vital cash programmes for community responders in areas more difficult to access (Joint analysis session 06/03/2025; SUWRA 04/02/2025).