The war in Sudan continues to rage. Since 15 April 2023, more than 11 million people have been forced to flee their homes. Some end up in camps – but most are sheltering in the homes of families living in the country’s largest cities.
Sudan war: Towns and cities stretched beyond limits
A new report from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) reveals the consequences of the unprecedented mass movement of people in Sudan.
“The forgotten war”. “The world’s worst humanitarian crisis”. Conflict, hunger, natural disasters, disease and economic instability. We’re talking about Sudan.
The alarm has long been sounded. Yet the world is not turning its attention to Sudan.
“I have never, in all my years as an aid worker, seen such a horrific mega-catastrophe with so little attention or resources to reach people in their hour of greatest need,” said NRC’s Secretary General, Jan Egeland, a whole year ago. Since then, the situation has become much worse.
Moving to host community
Figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) show that an estimated 11.2 million people have been displaced from 18 states in Sudan. Of the internally displaced households, 75 per cent have had to leave their homes since the conflict began on 15 April 2023.
The vast majority have moved into or near cities or towns, where people already live. These cities and towns then become what we describe as a “host community” for displaced people.
Pressure
The new report, Bursting at the seams, analyses data collected from 8,600 households, both displaced and host families, across six states in northern and eastern Sudan: Northern, Gederaf, Kassala, White Nile, Blue Nile and the Red Sea.
The report provides insight into how the mass movement of people is complicating the lives of, not only the millions who are displaced, but also the communities hosting them. The pressure is building on those who have displaced people living with them at home. And as demand for food, schools and healthcare increases, the impact is spreading to all those who live in the cities and towns.
A new report from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) reveals the consequences of the unprecedented mass movement of people in Sudan.
“The forgotten war”. “The world’s worst humanitarian crisis”. Conflict, hunger, natural disasters, disease and economic instability. We’re talking about Sudan.
The alarm has long been sounded. Yet the world is not turning its attention to Sudan.
“I have never, in all my years as an aid worker, seen such a horrific mega-catastrophe with so little attention or resources to reach people in their hour of greatest need,” said NRC’s Secretary General, Jan Egeland, a whole year ago. Since then, the situation has become much worse.
Moving to host community
Figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) show that an estimated 11.2 million people have been displaced from 18 states in Sudan. Of the internally displaced households, 75 per cent have had to leave their homes since the conflict began on 15 April 2023.
The vast majority have moved into or near cities or towns, where people already live. These cities and towns then become what we describe as a “host community” for displaced people.
Pressure
The new report, Bursting at the seams, analyses data collected from 8,600 households, both displaced and host families, across six states in northern and eastern Sudan: Northern, Gederaf, Kassala, White Nile, Blue Nile and the Red Sea.
The report provides insight into how the mass movement of people is complicating the lives of, not only the millions who are displaced, but also the communities hosting them. The pressure is building on those who have displaced people living with them at home. And as demand for food, schools and healthcare increases, the impact is spreading to all those who live in the cities and towns.
Food shortages
To take an example: What is common for both displaced people and their hosts is that almost everyone struggles to meet their most basic needs, and it is particularly difficult to obtain food. The report shows that a higher number of host families – 80 per cent – have reported serious to critical shortage of food, compared to those who are displaced, where the figure was 54 per cent. The explanation lies in the fact that only 8 per cent of host families have received food assistance. Yet 23 per cent of displaced families have received food assistance.
This shows that while humanitarian assistance has reached some displaced people, the response has not been adapted to provide sufficient support to host communities.
Omar Quni lives in Gedaref in eastern Sudan. He is currently hosting 15 family members in a small house he has built due to a lack of space in his own home.
“The displaced people have suffered a lot. We stand with them and try to help them,” Omar says. “I cover all [the expenses for] the families that I host. We struggle with food supplies; we have changed the type of food in line with this situation.
“All the displaced people are suffering; and now, everyone in the neighbourhood has become equal in living conditions, with no difference between the displaced and citizens. Everyone is struggling.”
Most critical needs
Host communities are usually happy to help people who have had to leave their homes. Who have had to leave behind everything they own, everything they live on and everything they love. But it quickly becomes difficult to be positive when there is no support to help them welcome the displaced.
This report identifies the areas that are most critical for the people of Sudan: livelihoods, healthcare, food and water, security and shelter. More support must be given to entire neighbourhoods – for both the displaced and their hosts.
But when will the world wake up to this?
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Bursting at the seams was produced in collaboration with the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), twelve local non-governmental organisations, the Sudan Humanitarian Aid Commission and NRC. Read report here.