A Forgotten War: Sudan’s Humanitarian and Human Rights Crisis

Ketan Tamirisa, Lara Kendall, Faraan O. Rahim, Paul Kim, Esraa Usman Eltayeb, and Nhial T. Tutlam

On January 24, 2025, immediate stop-work orders from the Trump administration halted critical aid operations in Sudan, disrupting life-saving treatment for severely malnourished children in US-funded medical facilities. Faced with the knowledge that compliance would result in preventable deaths among children, aid workers chose to continue their life-saving operations in defiance of US political directives. This crisis comes amid Sudan’s ongoing war, which erupted in April 2023 from a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group.

Currently, over half of Sudan’s nearly 50 million people, including more than 13 million children, face severe food insecurity, with 8.5 million at emergency levels. In addition, the nation’s economy has plummeted, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reporting a 20.3% decrease in Sudan’s real GDP from 1980 to 2024. Prior to this crisis, Sudan had an estimated 6,500 primary healthcare facilities and 300 public hospitals across the country. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), deliberate attacks and operational disruption have rendered up to 80% of health facilities non-functional in the most conflict-affected regions.

Despite this, global humanitarian aid has fallen short. Of the $2.7 billion requested for relief by the United Nations (UN), less than half has been funded, leaving millions without essential support. Many advocates for Sudanese relief describe the crisis as a forgotten war which receives little media attention and leaves the suffering of the Sudanese people largely overlooked.

The UN has been the main organization providing aid in Sudan, supported by donors including USAID, which contributed $424 million in 2023, but its future involvement is uncertain. The World Food Programme has also contributed significantly, providing up to $2.1 billion for food, medicine, and other necessities and NGOs like the Sudan Relief Fund and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), have delivered on-the-ground humanitarian aid.

But MSF-run shelters are grappling with medicine shortages and ongoing outbreaks of malaria, cholera, and measles. Attacks on aid workers and facilities have hampered relief efforts, and pose serious risks to those delivering medical care and food to displaced populations.

Since the conflict began more than 3.7 million people have been internally displaced in Sudan, and nearly 800,000 have fled to nearby countries, including the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan, and Uganda. Security concerns persist, and ongoing hostilities between armed groups threaten the safety of civilians in Sudan and neighboring countries, leading to further displacement and complicating infectious disease control, as well as the delivery of medical countermeasures. Neighboring countries like Chad are increasingly overwhelmed by the influx of refugees, with camps facing inhumane conditions and there are reports of gender-based violence.

Sudan remains severely fractured both politically and economically. Armed conflict continues between the SAF and RSF, with no clear path to de-escalation. Nearly 70% of Sudan’s GDP goes to military resources. Meanwhile, roads, schools, and healthcare infrastructure remain impaired with many facilities almost entirely dependent on NGOs and other external support to function.

Some observers are now looking to post-conflict models of health care for Sudan, such as Rwanda’s community-based health insurance scheme. This scheme has ensured access to care for over 90% of the population through a pooled funding mechanism grounded in the right to health. WHO has highlighted the applicability of similar systems in countries affected by war, offering a blueprint for Sudan to enhance its healthcare infrastructure. 

Civilian voices, particularly those of women and youth, have been central to grassroots calls for peace, accountability, and democratic reform. Nonetheless, the space for civic reconciliation and documentation of abuses remains perilous. Sudan’s crisis is not only a humanitarian disaster but a sustained failure to protect fundamental human rights. Violence, hunger, health system collapse, and mass displacement have unfolded with limited global response. Amidst the continued erosion of civilian protections and human rights abuses, there exists an urgent need for visibility, documentation, and immediate humanitarian action.

Ketan Tamirisa is a global health researcher at Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States.

Lara Kendall is a global health researcher at Duke Global Health Institute, Durham, NC, United States.

Faraan O. Rahim is a medical student and global health researcher at Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.  

Paul Kim is a global health researcher at Duke Global Health Institute, Durham, NC, United States.

Esraa Usman Eltayeb, MPH is an emergency officer at the Federal Ministry of Health, Khartoum, Sudan.

Nhial T. Tutlam, MPH, PhD, is an associate director for research at the International Center for Child Health and Development and an assistant professor at the Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States. Email: ntutlam@wustl.edu