Healthcare Workers United for Sudan: end the humanitarian crisis now

The ongoing conflict in Sudan, which has been raging for over 15 months, has been described as a ‘forgotten war’. While we welcome the funding contributed by Ireland and the EU so far, it is greatly disproportionate to the needs of the people living in Sudan. In Ireland and Europe, media and diplomatic attention seem focused on conflicts with greater strategic relevance to political leaders but the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Sudan must not be forgotten.

Since the war began in Sudan, almost 10 million people have been displaced from their homes (1), more than 15,000 people have died and a growing list of atrocities have been committed.(2) Half of Sudan’s population, or 25 million people, are currently in need of humanitarian assistance. Almost half of those are children. 

Close to 4 million children are facing acute malnutrition (3) and famine was recently declared in camps housing between 400,00-600,000 internally displaced people in part of Al Fasher. (4)   Sudan is currently experiencing one of the worst education crises in the world, with over 90% of its 19 million school-age children lacking access to formal education. (5) This ongoing disruption to children’s security, health and education will lead to a generational crisis for the country with negative impacts for years to come. Urgent action is needed to protect the lives and basic human rights of all children living through this conflict.

 

The catastrophic effects of food insecurity and famine are compounded by the risks from infectious disease outbreaks, disruption to public health services and lack of access to clean water and sanitation. Nearly three-quarters of health facilities are out of service and diseases including cholera, measles and malaria are spreading at a time when two-thirds of the population lack access to health care. (6) 

Despite these harrowing statistics, adequate humanitarian assistance has failed to materialise, with only 32% of the estimated 2.7 billion USD requirement for the Humanitarian Response Plan having been provided.(7) To put this in perspective, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU has made available almost 52 billion Euro in support for Ukraine encompassing macro-financial assistance, crisis response fund and humanitarian assistance.(8) EU funding for Ukraine is welcomed, but considering that EU funding for humanitarian assistance in Sudan totals only 1.045 billion since 2013 (9), the international community and the Government of Ireland must do more for the people of Sudan.

 

Ireland benefits from over 1,600 Sudanese doctors (10) working within our health service, providing essential healthcare to our population. Their families, loved ones and fellow citizens in Sudan are bearing the brunt of this war. 

We must do more. We must keep advocating for far more humanitarian assistance and for far greater diplomatic endeavours to end the armed conflict as quickly as possible. Though it may not be a geopolitical issue, it is a human rights issue.



References
1.    Sudan Situation: UNHCR External Update #68, 28 June – 4 July 2024 https://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/sudan-situation-unhcr-external-update-68-28-june-4-july-2024 

2.       https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/04/1148536

3.       https://www.unicef.org/sudan/stories/find-test-and-treat#:~:text=Sudan%20is%20grappling%20with%20one,suffering%20from%20severe%20acute%20malnutrition

4.       https://fews.net/east-africa/sudan/alert/august-2024?utm_source=press&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=sudan_august

5.       https://www.unicef.ie/2024/04/15/sudan-war-second-year/

6.       https://www.unrefugees.org/news/sudan-crisis-explained/

7.       https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/sudan/

8.       https://eu-solidarity-ukraine.ec.europa.eu/eu-assistance-ukraine_en#strong-and-comprehensive-eu-response

9.       https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/where/africa/sudan_en#facts--figures

10.   https://www.medicalindependent.ie/in-the-news/breaking-news/lack-of-wellbeing-support-for-sudanese-doctors-in-ireland-amid-devastating-war/