Aid groups urge Britain to act now on Sudan

Over a dozen major international charities have urged the UK Government to take action on Sudan, calling its leadership of efforts to end the conflict “inconsistent”.

After 1,000 days of fighting marked by mass rape, starvation and ethnic slaughter, leading aid organisations including Save the Children, Oxfam and Action Against Hunger say Britain must “act now to prevent further catastrophe”.

The nearly three-year conflict has displaced 14 million from their homes, killed as many as 400,000 people, triggered famine across several regions and unleashed what the UN has called “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis”.

The UK government has a key role to play in resolving the crisis because it is the UN security council’s “penholder” on the country and leads the negotiation and drafting of resolutions, putting it in a unique position to drive action.

Among its calls for action are:

• Push for an immediate, nationwide ceasefire
• Increase funding to local aid groups to help stop the spread of hunger
• Work with neighbouring countries to increase humanitarian assistance to refugees

However, the charities said ministerial changes, funding cuts, departmental upheaval and shifting political priorities had “repeatedly knocked Sudan off the agenda”.

“Sudan cannot be allowed to fade into another forgotten crisis, worse, a neglected one,” said Samy Guissebi, Country Director for Action Against Hunger in Sudan.

“The scale of suffering is immense, and we have witnessed the exhaustion and fear etched into the faces of people arriving in search of food, shelter and safety…we cannot do this alone.”