In a coordinated international response to Sudan’s escalating humanitarian catastrophe, the United States and United Nations have jointly established a new Sudan Humanitarian Fund with initial contributions totaling $700 million. The United Arab Emirates pledged $500 million while the United States committed $200 million toward the initiative, drawing from a $2 billion global humanitarian assistance fund established late last year.
The fundraising event, co-hosted in Washington by U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher and U.S. senior adviser for Arab and African affairs Massad Boulos, aimed to galvanize global support for Sudan’s war-ravaged population. Saudi Arabia and several other nations indicated they would make additional pledges, though specific amounts remain undisclosed.
Fletcher, who heads the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), emphasized the urgency of the situation, setting the beginning of Ramadan on February 17 as a target date for demonstrating tangible progress. “Today we are signaling that the international community will work together to bring this suffering to an end,” Fletcher stated during the event.
The humanitarian crisis stems from the ongoing power struggle between Sudan’s military and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group, which has plunged the nation into conflict since 2023. UN estimates indicate at least 40,000 fatalities, though actual numbers are believed to be significantly higher.
This conflict has created the world’s largest displacement crisis, forcing over 14 million people from their homes and triggering famine declarations across multiple regions. Recent fighting has concentrated in the Kordofan regions following the RSF’s capture of el-Fasher, one of the military’s last strongholds in Darfur.
In a concerning development, the RSF launched a drone attack on Tuesday that struck a medical center in Kadugli, killing 15 people including seven children according to the Sudan Doctors Network. This occurred despite the military’s recent gains in breaking the RSF’s siege of Kadugli and reopening a crucial supply route to the neighboring town of Dilling.
Boulos revealed that the U.S. has presented a “comprehensive proposal” for a humanitarian truce that could be finalized within weeks, offering potential relief to millions facing starvation and violence.