World
UN Agencies Warn Millions in Sudan May Lose Emergency Shelter as Aid Funding Falls Short
Only 936,000 of the 15.4 million people in Sudan who urgently need emergency shelter and basic household items have received assistance, according to a joint statement by the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The agencies said that funding shortages mean humanitarian organisations can prioritise aid for only about 10 percent of those in need. They added that the efforts to maintain supply pipelines, pre‑position emergency stocks in priority areas and deliver assistance where needs are greatest cannot be sustained without predictable and flexible funding.
Since the war began in 2023 between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), roughly 8.6 million people have been displaced within Sudan, making it the world’s largest displacement crisis. More than 4.6 million people have fled across the country’s borders, and over 5.2 million people have returned to their areas of origin, often finding homes, infrastructure and basic services destroyed. The statement noted that for families repeatedly displaced by conflict, a safe place to sleep and basic household supplies are far more than everyday necessities, offering safety and dignity, especially for women, children and other people at heightened risk.
IOM Sudan chief Mohamed Refaat, speaking from Khartoum, said the agency was struggling to maintain operations as resources dwindled. He noted that IOM distributed more than 40,000 tonnes of aid this year, but its warehouses are now completely empty. Refaat warned that the number of internally displaced people could rise again despite recent returns and that agencies had already scaled back ambitions because of limited funding. He called for urgent funding to replenish emergency stocks and prevent worsening conditions for displaced Sudanese.