International Donors Pledge €1.5 Billion to Alleviate Sudan's Humanitarian Crisis

International donors pledged more than 1.5 billion euros in humanitarian aid for Sudan at a conference in Berlin on Wednesday, as top representatives from the United Nations, Europe, Africa, and the United States gathered on the third anniversary of the country's civil war to press for relief access and an eventual ceasefire.

The civil war in Sudan began on April 15, 2023, when the Sudanese government army, the SAF, and the paramilitary RSF turned against each other after having jointly seized power in a coup. The two forces once cooperated closely — Daglo served as al-Burhan's deputy before the split. The conflict has since divided the country into separate spheres of control, with the army recapturing the largely destroyed capital Khartoum and eastern Sudan, while the RSF consolidated its hold over the Darfur region in the west. The Berlin conference was the third in a series of international donor gatherings, following earlier meetings in Paris and London.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul announced the total pledges at the close of the conference, which was organized by the Federal Foreign Office and co-hosted by Great Britain, France, the United States, the European Union, and the African Union. Delegations from more than 60 states attended. Wadephul described the conflict as being waged with extreme brutality and said it had triggered the greatest humanitarian catastrophe of the present day. He called on other states, organizations, and the private sector to contribute further resources. The minister also explicitly praised local aid workers who risk their lives daily between the front lines, as well as Sudan's neighboring states that have taken in large numbers of refugees.

„This nightmare must end.” — Antonio Guterres via Handelsblatt

Germany pledges hundreds of millions, Khartoum cries interference Germany announced a contribution of between 230 and 232 million euros — figures that varied slightly across reports — directed at the population of Sudan and at neighboring countries hosting millions of refugees. Wadephul defended the decision not to invite the Sudanese warring parties to the Berlin conference, saying he would engage them only once they signaled readiness for a ceasefire. The Sudanese government in Khartoum rejected that framing, condemning the conference as a "surprising and unacceptable" interference in its internal affairs and warning that dialogue with paramilitary groups undermines state sovereignty. The meeting had been scheduled without consultation with the leadership in Khartoum, the government said. Wadephul responded directly to that criticism.

„And that is not acceptable.” — Johann Wadephul via N-tv

The minister acknowledged that the Sudan crisis was not receiving the necessary public attention, partly because the war in Ukraine and the Middle East conflict were drawing international focus away from the African country. Several participants among the 60-plus delegations described the situation as a failure of the international community.

UN envoy and US adviser push ceasefire as only path forward Pekka Haavisto, the UN Special Envoy for Sudan, spoke in favor of an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, arguing it was the only way to adequately supply the suffering population. Wadephul called that demand "correct in substance." Massad Boulos, the Senior Advisor for Africa at the U.S. Department of State, emphasized that a ceasefire was a prerequisite for any lasting political solution. The United States is at the center of several peace initiatives for Sudan, including the so-called Quad grouping composed of the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt — though those countries are themselves partly entangled in the conflict. The UAE has been reported to support the RSF, while Egypt and Saudi Arabia back the Sudanese government. The United States imposed sanctions against Emirati companies linked to RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo and his family members earlier in the conflict, according to the reporting.

34 million need aid as war crimes allegations mount on both sides The scale of human suffering in Sudan has reached levels that the World Food Programme described as the planet's largest humanitarian catastrophe. According to figures cited at the conference, around 34 million people in Sudan depend on humanitarian aid, with approximately 21 million suffering from acute hunger and around 14 million displaced — living in temporary shelters or in neighboring countries. Estimates cited by reporting put the death toll at significantly more than 150,000, though the true number is expected to be determinable only after the war ends. Human rights organizations have accused both the SAF and the RSF of human rights violations and war crimes: the SAF faces accusations of indiscriminate bombing of residential areas, while the RSF is accused of using sexual violence as a weapon of war, particularly against non-Arab population groups in Darfur. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, up to 80 percent of health facilities in Sudan are destroyed or non-functional. Aid organizations have also accused the warring parties of deliberately using hunger as a weapon and destroying agricultural production.