Two years in: reflecting on the Sudan crisis

April 2025 marks two years since the conflict erupted in Sudan, yet the term “anniversary” feels inappropriate. An anniversary suggests celebration but today is a time for solemn reflection.

In April 2023, families fled to neighbouring countries Chad, Ethiopia, Egypt and South Sudan, exhausting all resources to escape the violence.

I was in Juba, South Sudan when the violence began

I had believed Sudan was more stable than its southern neighbour. I was wrong. Like many in the humanitarian sector, I was unprepared for the scale of the crisis that would unfold.​

I visited a makeshift transit centre at the border of Sudan a month after the violence erupted, in May 2023. People had congregated on a university campus that had been abandoned in South Sudan’s war a decade earlier. The conditions were dire. It was loud and smelly with no working facilities, no toilets, no clean water under the scorching sun. Humanitarian agencies were providing hot meals, trucking in water and offering healthcare on-site.

By June 2023, the situation had both improved and worsened. More agencies were present, and services had expanded but the camp grew exponentially each day.​ Many refugees had spent their last savings to reach the border, and the conflict showed no signs of abating.​

Two years later, the crisis persists

The humanitarian situation in Sudan remains dire. Over 30 million people, including 16 million children, are in urgent need of assistance. Hunger has reached unprecedented levels, with 8.5 million people experiencing emergency food insecurity and 755,000 on the brink of famine.

The country’s healthcare system is in shambles. More than 70 per cent of health facilities stopped functioning within six months of the conflict's onset. Mental health issues are abundant, affecting an estimated 15.7 million children and adults. Women and girls face rampant sexual violence, with survivors often stigmatized and ostracized.​ Education remains disrupted, with 90 per cent of schools closed for two years, affecting over 17 million children.

The conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has displaced over 400,000 people from the Zamzam camp in North Darfur alone. The camp, which once housed around half a million people, was overtaken by the RSF after a four-day assault, resulting in over 300 civilian deaths, including 10 aid workers.

Despite these challenges, humanitarian efforts continue. World Vision is providing food assistance, clean water, healthcare and protection services across Sudan, Ethiopia, Chad and South Sudan. However, access remains a significant barrier, with aid workers facing delays in obtaining visas and permits.​

Aids cuts will cost more children’s lives

Only 6.3 per cent of the original US$4.2 billion needed to support those in desperate need this year has arrived. The cuts, unless reversed, will cost children's lives. Many millions will go without food and vital services, and face deprivation and death.

The world must not forget Sudan. We must raise our voices, continue to pray, and support humanitarian efforts. The people of Sudan, those who remain and those who have fled, deserve our attention and assistance. The cost of inaction is far greater than the cost of intervention. An entire generation of children is at risk of being robbed of their future. ​

As we reflect on these two years, let us renew our commitment to the people of Sudan. Their suffering is not over, and neither should our support be.

Written by Alana, World Vision Canada’s head of fragile programming