The Sudanese civil conflict continues to cause a relentless humanitarian crisis, which has only partially emerged into the limelight with minimal international coverage. The United Nations reports that over one million Sudanese nationals have escaped their war-ridden nation to seek refuge across South Sudan’s border whereas roughly 770,000 refugees traversed the Joda border routes during the last 21 months. It is one of a devastating series of crises that has forced millions of people from their homes and has become one of the world’s worst displacement crises — an alarming milestone that demands urgent global action.
Albeit the gravity of the situation, the plight of these refugees slips off the front pages, overshadowed by European and Middle Eastern geopolitical crises. However, Sudan’s conflict and the exodus of its people have huge implications that extend far beyond regional stability, any global patterns of migration, and the very principles of international humanitarian law.
A Region on the Brink
The Sudan crisis is a regional powder keg as it extends beyond the national borders. Hordes of Sudanese find themselves in South Sudan, a fragile state in its own right just coming out of its own civil war. The country faces an unprecedented burden on its restricted resources base including essential food supplies alongside water supply and healthcare services. Humanitarian relief efforts face catastrophic conditions, refugee camps have overflowed and basic infrastructure is collapsing due to an increase in refugees. Reports from UNICEF highlight critical shortages in basic supplies for children and pregnant women.
At the same time, many other neighboring countries, including Chad, Ethiopia, and Egypt, are struggling with their own influx of refugees, exacerbating instability throughout the conflict ridden and economically fragile region. For example, Chad now faces a surge of more than 400,000 refugees (ReliefWeb). The international community needs to understand that Sudan’s humanitarian crisis would create a domino effect leading to increased destabilization throughout Eastern and Northern Africa.
The Injustice of Indifference
The blatant disparity of international attention and resources put towards this crisis compared to other crises makes it particularly egregious. This is while billions are spent responding to crises in Ukraine or Gaza, Sudanese refugees languish in overcrowded camps with minimal access to food, clean water, and health care. For example, the total amount of OCHA’s funding of the Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan is woefully short and less than 40% of its target.
This oversight depicts that the current global humanitarian responses experience double standards because geopolitical interests all too often dictate the extent of intervention. Moral failure is not the only thing — it’s a strategic blunder. To ignore the plight of Sudanese refugees is to invite the breeding ground for extremism, and a continuation of cycles of violence. The desperation and disillusionment in refugee camps make it easy to radicalize and destabilize the region and even further. According to analysis by the International Crisis Group ignoring this crisis will have long term consequences.
A Call to Action
The resolution of this crisis necessitates a comprehensive methodology that links temporary relief programs to enduring methods for both peace building and development. First, the international community needs to significantly enhance funding for refugee support in South Sudan alongside similarly affected countries. This should not only include emergency aid, but also investments in infrastructure, education and livelihoods to help refugees rebuild their lives. When sufficiently funded, programs like those led by the World Food Programme have demonstrated the possibility of scalable impactful solutions.
Second, the peace agreements for Sudan need to become the focus of intensified diplomatic negotiations. Warring factions in Sudan need intense pressure from the United Nations and African Union to develop political settlements that can start sustainable peace agreements. A lack of peace in Sudan will worsen the existing refugee crisis posing a threat to the whole region. To gain momentum the African Union requires stronger international support from key global actors.
Lastly, the voices of Sudanese refugees need to be amplified by the media and civil society organizations. They deserve to be told — not as a sad story but a galvanizing one — for empathy and for their stories of resilience and suffering. Public awareness is a powerful tool to make governments and international organizations accountable. Refugees International’s advocacy campaigns can provide a framework for highlighting these voices on the global stage.
Test of Global Solidarity
Widespread suffering and a refugee crisis spawned by the war in Sudan are not just a test of regional resilience, they are a litmus test for global solidarity. The international community’s commitment to uphold human rights and humanitarian principles will be reflected in how the world responds—or fails to respond.
Global solidarity should not be selective, as evidenced by the humanitarian crisis in Sudan. It insists that international principles must receive uniform application in every situation irrespective of geopolitical or geographical interests. A failure to act now will continue to worsen human suffering and consign the region and the world to a legacy of instability that can poison future generations.
We cannot afford to look away. It is time for action while the situation degenerates further into crisis leaving a burden of suffering and instability. We should not wait for another tragic milestone to remind us of our shared humanity.