Mr. Rogers once famously said “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”

As U.S.-led peace talks kick off in Geneva this week to hopefully end Sudan’s devastating 16-month-long civil war, USGLC is shining a spotlight on some of the ‘helpers’ working to mitigate the crisis and save lives. Our coalition members—the World Food Program USA (WFP USA), the International Rescue Committee (IRC), and UNICEF USA—have helped feed, clothe, heal, and protect the lives of millions caught up in what is now the worst displacement crisis in the world. Read on for insights from these top experts on what is going on, how they’re providing aid, and, more importantly, how we all can help.

WFP USA’s Rebecca Middleton: “WFP is doing what we do best, which is feeding folks in extreme situations. So far, just this year, WFP has reached over 3 million people in Sudan, which is tremendous.”

IRC’s Anastasia Moran: “The International Rescue Committee (IRC) was already operating in Sudan before April 2023. The IRC has now expanded operations, supporting local actors like Emergency Response Rooms, and starting new operations in areas where people have been displaced.”

UNICEF USA’s Wendy Coursen: “Fueled by 16 months of conflict, Sudan’s famine conditions will be further exacerbated by staggering displacement and lack of continued and safe humanitarian access. With the world’s largest internally displaced population – one in five people, or over 11 million – urgent attention is needed in Sudan.”

Thank you to Rebecca Middleton, Chief Advocacy & Engagement Officer at WFP USA, Anastasia Moran, Associate Director for U.S. Advocacy at IRC, and Wendy Coursen, VP of Public Affairs at UNICEF USA for their expertise, participation and contributions.

FULL INTERVIEWS:

How exactly is the crisis worsening? What are the main drivers of the crisis?

IRC: Conflict is the primary driver of the crisis, mainly between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – armed groups who had been part of a power-sharing deal that was supposed to transition to a civilian government. Violence erupted in April 2023 as both sides tried to take control through military means. Sudan is ranked #1 on our Emergency Watchlist this year as the top country at risk of further deterioration. 7 million people have been displaced within Sudan in the last year – for comparison, that’s a level of internal displacement that took 3-4 years to see in Syria.

The number of people requiring aid has jumped by 10 million in the past year – one of the largest rises globally. As war continues, it is driving the collapse of the economy, banking system, and basic services like health and education. Thousands of civil servants like teachers and health workers have gone months without a salary. Sudan is now facing the risk of complete state collapse.

WFP USA: The conflict has led to severe limitations on humanitarian access in the country. And Sudan is heading into its rainy season where families won’t have access to food that might have been available a few months ago. Crop stores have been depleted, and getting food into communities that need it is hard, if not impossible, during the rainy season because the roads get washed out. Then, of course, there’s the refugee crisis where over 9 million people have left their homes and 2 million of those have left the country. So, it’s not just a matter of getting through to folks who remain in their homes but it’s actually getting to folks who are leaving in hopes of finding more stability to fulfill basic human needs for themselves and their families.

Of those 2 million who have left the country, most of them are in Chad or South Sudan. There are also more and more folks making it as far as Uganda, Ethiopia, and Egypt. So, it’s about trying to find ways to get to folks who lack safe humanitarian access like there are in other parts of the world but there’s also just not enough money. It’s a huge limiting factor when resources are stretched so thin and demand goes up, which just makes it harder and harder. WFP is having to make choices around prioritizing who’s getting assistance, even if it’s on a reduced ration basis, and really focusing on those that are facing the highest levels of food insecurity.

UNICEF USA: What is happening in Sudan is a children’s crisis and it threatens broader destabilization. It will have painful generational impacts and warrants immediate attention. Famine was recently confirmed in a camp where more than 400,000 displaced people are sheltering in Sudan’s Northern Darfur Region. The Famine Review Committee (FRC)’s conclusion – the first determination of famine by the Committee in more than 7 years – means that people, including children, are dying of hunger and related conditions such as malnutrition and infection. Without urgent support, other parts of Sudan face the same risk.

Fueled by 16 months of conflict, Sudan’s famine conditions will be further exacerbated by staggering displacement and lack of continued and safe humanitarian access. With the world’s largest internally displaced population – one in five people, or over 11 million – urgent attention is needed in Sudan.

Photo: © OCHA/Ala Keir

How is your organization responding?

IRC: The International Rescue Committee (IRC) was already operating in Sudan before April 2023. The IRC has now expanded operations, supporting local actors like Emergency Response Rooms, and starting new operations in areas where people have been displaced. The IRC’s programming includes emergency cash assistance for those displaced, health and nutrition, clean water and hygiene programs, and services for gender-based violence. We’re also supporting Sudanese refugees and host communities in neighboring Chad, South Sudan and Uganda.

WFP USA: WFP is doing what we do best, which is feeding folks in extreme situations. So far, just this year, WFP has reached over 3 million people in Sudan, which is tremendous. And we’re also trying to reach another 5 million through general food assistance, including cash-based transfer, school meals, and nutrition assistance. We are also reaching several folks who are displaced externally as well, in Chad, South Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Egypt. It’s really a full court press, but there’s a tremendous limitation on humanitarian access in several places in Sudan. Even with the resources that WFP has at its disposal to provide assistance, they’re not able to get it to many of the folks who need it the most because of the conflict and the barriers that have been put in place.

UNICEF USA: In response to the Sudan crisis, UNICEF is on the ground and continues to deliver lifesaving aid. UNICEF is partnering with local, international and other UN partners to provide critical health support, vaccines, and water and sanitation services, reaching over 5 million people with safe drinking water and more than 3 million people with critical health supplies this year. Limited humanitarian access has been a major challenge, but with malnutrition on the rise, UNICEF has persevered and continues to provide lifesaving ready-to-use therapeutic food to treat children across the country. In 2024, UNICEF and its partners have expanded nutrition-focused partnerships, which are operationally present in 132 priority areas, including 103 in hard-to-reach areas due to the conflict. UNICEF healthcare workers in Sudan are supporting early detection and prevention efforts, reaching nearly 2.8 million children with malnutrition screening so far this year. UNICEF also supports critical services to address malnutrition in more than 1,700 health facilities and through 70 mobile teams. In the first half of the year, over 133,600 severely malnourished children were admitted. In addition, UNICEF has continued to move lifesaving nutrition supplies through crossline and cross-border operations, sufficient to treat 215,000 severely malnourished children.

What’s most important right now in terms of humanitarian assistance? What specific needs should be top of mind in providing aid and assistance to Sudan?

IRC: On the current trajectory, Sudan is likely to soon become the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. A large-scale, comprehensive aid response is required. The risk of famine is top of mind. The population in famine conditions, when death is occurring, has shot up from zero last year to 755,000 people today – the highest figure globally. That requires not just food, which is what people tend to think about with a famine, but programs like specialized treatment for children who are already malnourished, cash in areas where markets are still running so people can afford food and other items, and clean water and sanitation since we know disease outbreaks are often the top driver of death during a famine as immune systems become weakened.

But any effective aid response is impossible unless you have access for aid workers. Both warring parties are blocking lifesaving aid delivery and attacking aid workers. Millions of civilians are being deprived of sufficient aid as a result. All possible aid routes need to be opened for aid immediately. This should include allowing the UN to run cross-border operations from Chad into Sudan’s Darfur region, which has received limited aid. In response to barriers to aid delivery in Gaza, the UN Secretary-General appointed a senior humanitarian coordinator – the severity of aid blockages justifies a similar UN role for Sudan.

WFP USA: The needs are really twofold, which in some cases is driven by a third thing which is money, access, and then awareness. This is the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world right now. And the limited coverage that it’s getting is astonishing. I think anything that those of us who are paying attention could do to draw increased attention to it will help drive the political pressure, both for more resources from donor countries, and from individuals in the private sector. That type of global pressure would also hopefully allow humanitarian access in the places where WFP, other NGOs and UN entities can’t get right now. So, I think those are the pieces that are most critical.

UNICEF USA: Children are bearing the brunt of the Sudan crisis. An estimated 13 million children are grappling with acute food insecurity, and 3.7 million are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition in 2024. If the conflict escalates further, there is a risk of famine across 14 areas in the country. As the war continues, it threatens broader regional stability. More than two million people have fled to neighboring countries since April 2023, and access issues are impeding delivery of critical humanitarian assistance. In addition, the fast-approaching rainy season and expected floods will likely affect the agricultural season through the spread of pests and plant diseases. With health systems stretched, economic deterioration and growing food insecurity and malnutrition catastrophe, immediate and longer-term needs must be considered. The future of Sudan’s 24 million children is at risk.

Photo: © International Rescue Committee

Is the world meeting the moment? And if not, how do we get it right?

IRC: No, the crisis has been woefully neglected. Previous crises of this magnitude like Syria or Yemen received high levels of attention and funding in the early years of conflict. On average, donors have provided $20 aid dollars per person in need in Sudan – 10 times less than the ratio for Ukrainians in the first year of that conflict. After delayed action in the 2011 famine in Somalia cost 250,000 lives, world leaders pledged to “never again” let that happen. But the international community is failing to mobilize the political will for famine risk in Sudan today.

If famine risk wasn’t enough to justify action, ethnic violence, sexual violence against women and girls, and the blocking of aid are defining features of this conflict. These are egregious violations of international laws and norms that states have pledged to uphold. Yet international actors are continuing to arm the warring parties in Sudan with few repercussions. There are no easy solutions, but the options on the table will get worse the longer the world waits to act; conflict will become more intractable as more armed groups form and more regional powers engage, not to mention the difficulty of responding late after a major refugee crisis or full-blown famine is underway.

WFP USA: I think there are a lot of people meeting the moment right now to the best of their ability. So, thinking about the staff of WFP, and other NGOs that are working in Sudan and in the surrounding countries dealing with this crisis, but is the world? No. It’s not getting the attention in the media, it’s not getting the attention politically, although I have been encouraged to see some members of Congress speaking out and drawing attention to it, but it should be on every news channel every night. If you look at the number of folks facing the highest level of food insecurity, it’s up to 755,000 people which is about the number of people who live in Seattle. So, if you think about the entire population of Seattle, that would be roughly equivalent to the number of people facing famine in Sudan. Telling as many stories as possible, talking about the human impact of this, and using our platforms to draw attention to it is extremely important.

UNICEF USA: More than half of the country’s children are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, and most are not in school. These children deserve to be safe and protected, free from violence and the threat of recruitment into armed groups and provided access to quality health and education services. Now, and in the long term, the global community must help meet the needs of these children – from addressing the lifelong consequences of malnutrition to providing mental health support and opportunities to learn and thrive. Their fight for survival and an uncertain future, driven by problems they did not cause, demands more than a headline. It demands action.

What does this conflict and crisis mean for broader stability in the region?

IRC: Insufficiently addressed, conflicts can spill across borders. We’ve seen this in the Central Sahel, where conflict has burned on for over a decade, engulfing the region and sparking an alarming proliferation of hundreds of armed groups. Sudan’s neighbors are already facing their own domestic challenges; Chad is in the midst of a political transition, while South Sudan is headed towards elections this year that could spark major domestic instability and conflict. Instability spreading from Sudan could drive a regional disaster.

Additionally, if people cannot find safety or meet their basic needs inside Sudan, then they will be forced to flee across the region. We know from past crises that refugee movements often don’t peak in the first year; they increase in later years as people exhaust their savings and coping mechanisms (e.g. taking on debt) to survive. Two million people have already fled Sudan. The majority are hosted in Chad and South Sudan – countries each with 0.05% of the United States’ GDP. Yet international generosity has faltered. The humanitarian response for Chad is only 19% funded and South Sudan is at 20%. The U.S. government should respond by developing a clear regional strategy to mitigate conflict spillover and instability, while also drawing on lessons learned from other refugee crises to ensure a multi-year effort early on to sustain support for those fleeing Sudan. This should leverage the U.S.’ role as the largest shareholder to the World Bank to increase support for these refugee-hosting countries who are providing a global public good despite their own fragility and development needs.

WFP USA: It’s remarkable to see how generous these host countries are, especially since they are already facing a food insecurity crisis in parts of Chad and South Sudan. You’re pushing 2 million individuals into the surrounding countries which is adding to the demands on the humanitarian system that’s there. And on the other end, if you talk to any refugee anywhere in the world, they don’t want to leave their homes. They want to be where they have lived with their families, in some cases, for generations. But it begs the question, how much more can be asked of the region to support the human effects of the crisis?  At the end of the day this is a man-made conflict that has driven a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions and that’s the hard part about this.

Photo Credit: © WFP/Abubaker Garelnabei

How can we best rally other partners and countries to step up and take action?

IRC: Leaders from across the U.S. government besides the U.S. Special Envoy, including cabinet members, should visit the region to speak directly with Sudanese refugees, aid workers and host communities. A visit to see the regional impact of the Sudan crisis by President Biden before the end of his term (and by the next U.S. President next year) would send an important signal of the U.S. prioritization of the situation. As the largest aid donor, the U.S. should also call for a second donor conference to be held, with ministerial level representation, to galvanize commitments from other donors. This should include support for local Sudanese groups who are playing a vital role in the aid response yet too often face challenges accessing international support. The U.S. Congress also has a crucial role to play by passing a strong foreign aid budget for next year.

 Lastly, as a member of the UN Security Council, the U.S. should press for the current arms embargo on Darfur to be expanded to cover all of Sudan to halt weapons flows to warring parties given the widespread attacks on civilians and violations of international law. This action would also help put real pressure on the parties to engage in talks rather than seek a military victory.

WFP USA: The best thing the United States can do is what it’s always done best, which is to lead on this, lead the conversation, lead the contributions of both the public and private sector, and to throw down the gauntlet to other donors and say, “Hey, we’re doing our part, we need you to step up and do yours.” It’s the right thing to do both in the short and long term, and the world needs us to rise to this moment. So, I think leaning in even more on our long history of U.S. leadership in addressing global hunger needs is key but so is talking about it. And not just for policymakers, but also for the general public. As far as motivating other donor countries to step up, the U.S. must continue to lead and continue to challenge our partners in the global space to rise to the occasion.

UNICEF USA: UNICEF USA calls on Congress and key decisionmakers across sectors to address the critical humanitarian and systems needs in Sudan and countries experiencing crisis. Leaders – including individuals from youth organizations, foundations, and the private sector – can elevate their voices to draw attention and resources to this catastrophe, and particularly how it impacts children. Mobilize others. And do so now.

What role has the U.S. played so far in peace talks and taking leadership in addressing this crisis?

IRC: The U.S. notably stepped up to co-convene the Jeddah peace talks last year with Saudi Arabia and the two countries are set to launch new ceasefire talks this month in Switzerland. These efforts are now bolstered by a U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan. Last December, Secretary Blinken notably made a public determination that members of SAF and RSF have committed war crimes.

Sudan has also notably received strong, bipartisan attention from Members of Congress, who pushed for months for a Special Envoy to Sudan role and stronger U.S. engagement on the crisis. The supplemental aid package passed by Congress this year averted devastating U.S. aid cuts for Sudan and saved lives. It enabled the U.S. to lead as the largest aid donor for the humanitarian response. These actions reflect the U.S.’ moral interest in averting tens of thousands of lives lost and strategic interest in preventing the collapse of a country of over 45 million people and further regional instability.

Photo: © International Rescue Committee

How can we best spread awareness for this crisis in our daily lives?

UNICEF USA: UNICEF USA, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that supports UNICEF’s global mission to ensure every child can survive and thrive, is asking constituents and supporters across the U.S. to continue to amplify UNICEF’s work to reach children. We urge support – through individual and private contributions as well as through Congressional appropriations – for UNICEF’s development and humanitarian efforts around the world, and specifically support for UNICEF’s core resources, which enable nimble, high-impact approaches to address crises like that in Sudan.

Driving impact for children and families in Sudan requires leadership and action — from individuals, organizations, policymakers, all of us – to focus attention and resources to create a better future for every child. UNICEF USA is grateful that, with vocal support from advocates across the U.S., Congress provided $9.2 billion in emergency funds for global humanitarian aid earlier this year and UNICEF and partners are working toward that vision.

WFP USA: It’s all about learning, sharing and acting. First, you must educate yourself on what’s going on. It might surprise you to know that WFP has identified 44 hunger hotspots in Sudan. And that’s one thing we didn’t touch on earlier, just as an aside, but this is a country-wide crisis — something that differentiates it further. As individuals, we must talk about it with our friends, our neighbors, our family members, and use our social media platforms to share stories that various organizations are putting out on this. To act, we must engage with our policymakers, reach out to them, tell them that we want them to step up and make sure that if the U.S. government is doing its part to provide funding for this. It’s critical for our policymakers to hear from their constituents that they should be paying attention to this.

Header Photo: © International Rescue Committee