December 12, Nairobi — Sudan is now the biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded, accounting for 10 percent of people in humanitarian need globally despite being home to just one percent of the world’s population, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) said in a report on Tuesday.
Sudan is top of the Emergency Watchlist for the second year running and heading towards one of the world’s worst famines in decades, the IRC said. The crisis has displaced more people, totaling 14.6 million, and left more people in humanitarian need, totaling 30.4 million, than any other crisis since records began. The report also referenced widespread sexual violence, recruiting of child soldiers and fighters in Darfur accused of ethnic cleansing.
“The country’s collapse is accelerating as a brutal civil war, fueled by outside powers, devastates the lives of civilians,” the report said. “Far from working towards a diplomatic resolution, leaders of both factions seem to believe that continued fighting best serves their interests, putting Sudan on course for devastating humanitarian collapse in 2025.”
IRC predicted the situation will only worsen, with famine likely to spread and the health crisis will deteriorate as facilities remain under attack. Civilian needs will also grow as “both sides choke humanitarian access.”
The IRC also said that ripple effects from the conflict in Sudan exposes South Sudan to a growing economic crisis, while the arrival of nearly 900,000 people fleeing the war adds to the country’s challenges.
“Sudan starkly illustrates how far the balance can tilt sharply against civilians in conflict,” the IRC said. “Without swift action to safeguard civilians and civilian infrastructure, many Sudanese will be left without the humanitarian assistance they desperately need.”