Attachments
OPERATIONAL STRATEGY REVISION
In May 2023, IFRC classified the complex crisis in Sudan as a “red-level” emergency, indicating the urgent need for heightened attention, substantial resources and coordinated effort to address the plight of the affected populations. Since then, the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in the country has increased threefold, as has the severity of the needs of those enduring this crisis. The outlook for 2025 is not promising either based on conflict data and trends collected by several sources over the past six months. Ongoing conflict and destruction of infrastructure, coupled with climate-related disasters, will continue to drive displacement and needs. Health and nutrition outcomes are projected to worsen further as the conflict continues and access to food, health and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene services (WASH) remains limited.
The IFRC network is scaling up its support to Sudan Red Crescent Society (SRCS) through the revision of this Emergency Appeal and Operational Strategy. This scale-up requires additional funds, to reach CHF 80 million, up from the original funding ask of 60 million, which will allow SRCS to reach 3 million people, a significant increase over the original 800,000 people, across 13 states in Sudan under the EA, representing approximately 12 per cent of the most vulnerable population in need in the country. The 13 states targeted are Red Sea, River Nile, Northern state, Kassala, Gedaref, Sennar, Blue Nile, Khartoum, Al Jazirah, White Nile, North Kordofan, West Kordofan and South Kordofan. They represent 70 per cent of the people in need in the country.
The timeframe of this Emergency Appeal has been extended 12 months now, to 31 December 2025, after which activities transition to the Sudan Unified Country Plan. The indicators of this Operational Strategy have also been updated to better align with the overarching reporting structure of SRCS.
DESCRIPTION OF THE EVENT
On 15 April 2023, armed conflict broke out in Khartoum between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), spreading quickly to other states and driving widespread displacement. More than 12.5 million people have fled their homes since then, including more than 8.8 million inside Sudan and another 3.4 million seeking refuge outside the country. There have been a reported 1,845 instances of political violence and more than 4,480 fatalities since April 2024 alone. Most of the violence has been in Khartoum and North Darfur states, and from April to October 2024, violence increased every month, with July to August the only exception.
Food insecurity and famine-like conditions have increased significantly in this time, especially in Darfur and areas of Khartoum where conflict and violence have spiked. Millions of people were already food-insecure before the current phase of the conflict, and especially in conflict areas like Al Fashir town the crisis is getting worse, with thousands of families facing acute food insecurity. The violence in Al Fashir has had devastating consequences, forcing many to seek refuge in camps for internally displaced people (IDPs), where essential services are scarce or completely unavailable.
Thousands of families have been forced to leave their homes and seek safety in Zamzam, the largest IDP camp in North Darfur. Zamzam camp’s population has swelled to over 500,000, with many lacking access to food, water and health care. SRCS continues to gather community insights on the impact of the food crisis on these affected communities at these locations, through its presence in the actual communities. Nearly 90,000 people in Bahri, Khartoum and Om Durman localities are now expected to enter Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Stage 5 (“catastrophe”), which is the highest level of food insecurity. Destruction of and damage to food storage and production facilities have naturally diminished the availability of and access to food.
The displacement of people caught in this crossfire has now also sparked a crisis in Protection. As of December 2024, more than 8 million people had been internally displaced within the 18 states of Sudan, more than half of them women and one-quarter of them children under 5, many of whom have been increasingly exposed to sexual- and- gender-based violence (SGBV), often in exchange for food or for access to basic items. In Um Durman and Bahri there are already reports of torture and arbitrary arrest too. Displaced families have now started protesting in Port Sudan as well, traumatized by their relocation to other facilities without consultation. These events have been part of a series of social movements amid growing tensions in the region calling for improved living conditions and guaranteed residency rights.