France hosts the International Humanitarian Conference on Sudan

An International humanitarian conference for Sudan and neighbouring countries was held in the French capital, Paris, on 15 April 2024 to raise funds for the people of Sudan who have been caught in a war between Sudan’s army and the rebel paramilitary force Rapid Support Forces. 

The conference was organised in response to the United Nations' funding appeal on 7 February 2024.

Organiser and participants of the Conference 

France, Germany and the European Union organised the International Humanitarian Conference for Sudan and neighbouring countries. Ministers and representatives of over 58 states, including neighbouring and regional countries and donors, attended the conference. It was also attended by representatives of various regional organisations such as the African Union, many United Nations programmes and agencies, representatives of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Arab Development Bank. Around 50 international and Sudanese NGOs also participated in the conference.

Total Money pledged at the Conference

At the Paris conference, the international donors announced they would provide more than 2 billion euros, including around 900 million euros provided by the European Union and its Members. 

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Sudan needs at least $2.7 billion this year to provide food, health care, and other supplies to 24 million people in Sudan, almost half the 51 million Sudanese population.

Humanitarian Crisis in Sudan 

Since independence in 1956, Sudan has been plagued with civil war and political instability. The latest civil war started in 2023. One faction, the Sudanese Armed Forces, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, is engaged in a brutal war with a powerful paramilitary force, Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo. Both groups are engaged in a bitter fight to control the Sudanese state and its resources. 

General Burhan and Dagalo were allies in overthrowing Sudan’s dictator, Omar -al Bashir's government in 2019. In 2021, Burhan and Dagalo again came together to overthrow an internationally recognised civilian government led by Abdalla Hamdok.

In December 2022, a peace agreement brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States was signed under which the RSF was to be merged with Sudan’s Armed Forces and power to be transferred to a civilian government. However, the peace deal broke down, and in  April 2023, fighting resumed between the forces of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and  Mohamed Hamdan ``Hemedti” Dagalo in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum and other parts of the country. 

The ongoing conflict in Sudan has come with terrible consequences for the people of Sudan and neighbouring countries. Around 14,000 Sudanese have lost their lives, and around 33,000 have been wounded in a year-long fresh civil war. Around 9 million people have fled the country and taken shelter in neighbouring countries of Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan.

Sudan has the largest number of internally displaced persons in the world. According to relief agencies,

More than half of the Sudanese people need humanitarian assistance, while 18 million people are suffering from acute food insecurity. According to relief agencies, there is a real danger of famine in the country. The country’s food production and distribution networks have broken down.

Republic of Sudan 

Sudan is located in northeastern Africa. 

Sudan achieved its independence from Egypt and the United Kingdom on 1 January 1956.

In 2011, the southern part of the country seceded from the country to form an independent country.

Capital - Khartoum is situated at the junction of the Blue Nile and White Nile rivers.

President: General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan

Currency: Sudanese Pound