Sudan Humanitarian Update (12 November 2023)

HIGHLIGHTS

  • More than 6 million people have been displaced within and outside Sudan since mid-April 2023.

  • A least 1.2 million people fled Sudan since mid-April seeking safety and protection in neighbouring countries.

  • Sudan is now the largest child displacement crisis in the world, with 3 million children fleeing widespread violence.

  • OHCHR raises concerns of women and girls being abducted, allegedly forcibly married and held for ransom.

  • Sudan is one of the top four hotspots of highest concern for food insecurity according to the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme.

  • The revised 2023 Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan appeal is only 33.8 per cent funded as of 12 November.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

Sudan is facing one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history, with civilian displacement continuing within the country and into neighbouring countries. Since fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted in mid-April, an estimated 6.1 million people have fled their homes, making Sudan the country with the largest number of displaced people in the world as prior to the fighting there were 3.7 million IDPs in Sudan.

According to the International Organization for Migration Displacement Tracking Matrix (IOM DTM) Snapshot 9, about 4.9 million people have been displaced within Sudan and have sought refuge in 5,191 locations across all of Sudan’s 18 states, of whom about 33,300 people were newly displaced over the past week. The majority of people internally displaced, about 3.3 million (68 per cent) are originally from Khartoum. Most of the displaced people have taken refuge in South Darfur followed by River Nile, East Darfur, White Nile, Aj Jazirah, Northern, and North Darfur states.

In addition to the internal displacement, at least 85,800 people fled Sudan over the past month seeking safety and protection in neighbouring countries, bringing their total numbers since April 2023 to 1.2 million people, according to the latest figures from UNHCR. People have crossed into neighbouring Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Egypt,
Ethiopia and South Sudan.

The establishment of a Humanitarian Forum for Sudan agreed in Jeddah

On 7 November, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, issued a statement following the Statement of Commitments adopted in Jeddah by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF). She welcomed in particular the agreement reached for the establishment of a Humanitarian Forum for Sudan led by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) representing the humanitarian community and with the participation of the two principle parties to the conflict, SAF and RSF. The forum will facilitate the implementation of the commitments made in Jeddah with a particular emphasis on common themes of protection and access.