Tuesday 15 April 2025 marks two years of unrelenting conflict in Sudan, resulting in the world’s most severe humanitarian and displacement crisis. The figures are startling, and unmatched anywhere in the world, or in history.
Today, in Sudan, millions of families are facing famine, disease, and insecurity. Ten million people have been internally displaced while more than three million have fled across Sudan’s borders. The fighting between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support forces (RSF) has now spread across most of the country.
While many agencies have been forced to exit Sudan, CAFOD’s work is continuing alongside our partners. We are supporting communities with desperately needed humanitarian aid, including food, water, basic sanitation and mental health work.
Telley Sadia, CAFOD’s Country Representative for Sudan:
“As this conflict rages into its third year, the humanitarian situation here in Sudan is devastating. 30 million people are in desperate need of assistance, and yet they are being largely ignored by the international community.
“Our local partners are providing essentials such as food, shelter, clean water and toilets to prevent the spread of disease, as well as treating acute malnutrition and offering psychosocial support. Working through local partners enables us to reach communities that larger organisations struggle to access.
Nadia* is a Sudanese mother displaced by the conflict who now lives in a refugee camp. Her husband has been missing for over a year. She told CAFOD about her efforts to earn a living, but says the funds she raises are barely sufficient to purchase even the most basic foodstuffs.
“We hope God will stop the war so we can return to our homes and normal lives. We came here as refugees from the war.”
“We are trying to make a living. We go to collect firewood to sell it. We also go to the village next to the camp to harvest okra. One basket is worth £400(Sd) Sudanese pounds (equivalent to 50p in the UK), sometimes I get £800(Sd) Sudanese pounds (equivalent to £1.02 in the UK), but it’s not enough to buy ¼ of a kilogram of flour.”
CAFOD has been working in Sudan for more than 50 years, alongside our partners, through the Caritas International network and supported by the Council of Churches in Sudan. Together, we are some of the only organisations still able to deliver support, including being able to build toilets to provide safe drinking water and washing facilities at the camp where Nadia and her family are living,.
Nadia continues:
“We are suffering from lack of water, but after CAFOD’s intervention... a water tank arrives every two days.”
The fighting across Sudan is ongoing. A lull in the fighting in Khartoum, after SAF regained control of the wider parts of the city, has recently made the capital accessible again. Many of the formerly displaced persons are beginning to go back, in the hope of restarting their lives there. CAFOD is monitoring the situation closely, in preparation to support returning communities previously caught in crossfire.
International Ministerial Conference – Tuesday, London
Leaders from major donor countries and the wider region are coming together in London, for a ministerial conference, on Tuesday 15 April, 2025, hosted by Foreign Secretary David Lammy. The event, held on the two year anniversary of the start of the war, is a forum to try to encourage moves towards a ceasefire as well as the protection of civilians.
Kayode Akintola, CAFOD’s Africa Regional Director said:
"CAFOD is calling on the UK government and others at the Ministerial Conference in London to strengthen diplomatic efforts to end the violence; open up access for humanitarian organisations to deliver lifesaving assistance; and ensure that increased funds reach local organisations and community networks delivering aid at the frontlines.”
CAFOD is calling for more recognition among the international community, of the life-saving work led by local organisations and community networks.
Local Sudanese society – including faith groups and others – have continued to provide life-saving aid, and CAFOD’s work in Sudan focuses on supporting them. Yet our joint appeal with other Christian faith-based organisations is now critically under-funded , with most of the international funding directed to larger UN agencies.
At CAFOD we believe that the best way to support Sudan’s immediate needs and future reconstruction is through the work of local communities and local organisations. There is an urgent need to scale up support to this kind of partner-based work, as the conflict heads into its third year.
*Please note: Individual names have been changed, due to security risks.
Notes for media
CAFOD is the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, and part of Caritas International, working with communities across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America to fight poverty and injustice. The agency works with people in need, regardless of race, gender, religion or nationality.
Contact Rosalind Mayfield (rmayfield@cafod.org.uk, +44 (0)7856 799169) at the CAFOD Media Centre for more information or to request media interviews. Our latest statements as this story develops will be posted on X/Twitter and Bluesky.
Latest Hi-Res images from CAFOD's work in Sudan are available at this link. Unbranded images are available on request, with a credit to CAFOD. For our latest news on Sudan, click here.
