Sudan: UN deputy relief chief appeals to donors "we have a very narrow window to act"

Remarks at the High-level Pledging Event for Sudan and its neighbours by Joyce Msuya, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator

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Thank you very much. Excellencies, honourable ministers, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you to the co-hosts – France, Germany and the European Union – for organizing this event. And thank you to all of you for being here. Your attendance is a signal that the world will not abandon the people of Sudan.

Excellencies, an avalanche of suffering engulfs the country. Almost half the population – 25 million people – need urgent assistance. More than eight million people have fled their homes.

Hunger is skyrocketing. Health systems have crumbled. Pregnant women are dying in labour. And the entire generation of children is missing out on an education.    

Violations of international humanitarian law are now commonplace.  

Women and girls are being terrorized amid a wave of conflict-related sexual violence.  

Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed or injured, some of them victims of reported ethnic-based killings that remind us of the dark days in Darfur 20 years ago.

The recent escalation in El Fasher is raising the spectre of even greater danger to civilians in Darfur.  

But amidst the despair, there is hope.  

Across the country, humanitarian workers, community volunteers and women-led organizations are giving everything they have for the people of Sudan. And host communities are opening up their homes and sharing whatever they can with neighbours whose lives have been torn apart.

But without adequate funding, this hope could soon evaporate. The 2024 humanitarian appeal for Sudan has received just 6 per cent of the funding needed.

And we have a very narrow window to act. For example, if we do not have additional funding to deliver seeds and tools by June, farmers will miss the planting season – which would deepen hunger even further.

That is why today’s event is so crucial. Every pledge you make will be spent on maintaining and expanding humanitarian operations, both inside Sudan and throughout the region.

In addition to scaled-up resources, we also need humanitarian access. Too often, aid agencies are not able to get lifesaving supplies to people in need due to insecurity, violence and red tape. These factors often lead to weeks or even months of delays – delays that can literally mean the difference between life and death for communities fighting for their survival.

The world is watching. But more importantly, the people of Sudan are watching. So let today mark the moment the world agreed to end their suffering so that they may live their lives with the peace and dignity that every human being deserves.