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Mark Hackett 7/2/25 Mark Hackett 7/2/25

Death toll rising in Sudan after USAID cuts

USAID was one of the leading international development agencies fighting famine in Sudan. After being illegally shuttered, the death toll of the world’s largest humanitarian emergency is soaring.

USAID was one of the leading international development agencies fighting famine in Sudan. After being illegally shuttered, the death toll of the world’s largest humanitarian emergency is soaring.

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When the Trump Administration entered the White House in January, one of their first moves was to freeze U.S. foreign aid “that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the United States.” Chaos quickly ensued across the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) —the American government’s independent agency responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance— as there was little guidance on what work was and wasn't allowed.

Uncertainty quickly morphed into mayhem. A team from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) breached USAID’s secure systems without security clearances. USAID security officers who intervened to protect classified and sensitive information were threatened and then placed on leave. Staff and contractors struggled to interpret conflicting directives: one enforcing the freeze and another stating lifesaving operations could continue with a waiver, though few partners were told how to obtain one.

Then-DOGE head Elon Musk soon declared USAID would be shut down, posting, “We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper. Could gone to some great parties. Did that instead.” Administration officials issued conflicting statements, some claiming USAID would close, others that it would move under the State Department. Thousands of critical staff were fired or placed on leave. And, halfway around the globe, the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophe was about to get much more dangerous.

The crisis in Sudan and USAID’s response

**Sudan Crisis Guide**

**Trying to make sense of the war in Sudan? We’ll get you up to speed in just a few minutes.**

Learn More

Today, Sudan is well into a third year of one of the most brutal wars in modern history. Everything has been weaponized by the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF)—former allies who ousted a transitional civilian government in 2019 and are now fighting for control of a nation that wants neither in charge. Both sides have blocked aid and targeted humanitarian workers, and the RSF is using mass rape as a weapon of war. Khartoum lies in ruins, as do countless other towns and villages.

This nightmare war has given way to the largest hunger, displacement, and childhood education crises in the world. Nearly 30 million Sudanese —over half of the entire country— are facing high levels of acute food insecurity, with famine declared in multiple areas. The suffering is staggering, and the U.S. government has recognized that genocide is being committed.

USAID entered the fray in the early days of this crisis. Agency staff coordinated with humanitarian partners, stayed in contact with local Sudanese staff, and deployed an elite Disaster Assistance Response Team to assess needs and direct incoming aid to where it was most needed.

As the months ticked by, USAID and State Department staff worked around the clock to pry open aid routes, finally getting aid convoys into some of the hardest-hit areas. While most of the world abandoned Sudan at the outset of the war, many of the Sudanese people found a friend in the United States. In fact, last year, Americans provided nearly 50% of all humanitarian aid to Sudan, much of it delivered in sacks and boxes stamped with the USAID logo and the warm words: From the American People.

Death toll rising after USAID cuts

Now, a shocking Washington Post investigation is revealing how the shuttering of USAID is no longer just a political headline. In Sudan, aid cuts are rapidly accelerating the already unconscionable death toll. From the Post:

“While the Trump administration’s cuts to USAID this year have been felt deeply across the world, their impact in Sudan was especially deadly, according to more than two dozen Washington Post interviews with civilians, clinicians and aid officials in the capital, Khartoum, and surrounding villages. When U.S.-supported soup kitchens were forced to close, babies starved quietly, their mothers said, while older siblings died begging for food. Funding stoppages meant that critical medical supplies were never delivered, doctors said. The lack of U.S.-funded disease response teams has made it harder to contain cholera outbreaks, which are claiming the lives of those already weakened by hunger…”

Here is one story of the many families who have watched loved ones die:

*Photo: USAID assistance on the Sudan/South Sudan border (Operation Broken Silence*).

“In the desert outside the city of Omdurman, just to the northwest of the capital, Fatma Swak Fadul lives in a sweltering adobe slum. She used to have seven children; now she has five. For more than a year, they survived on a single daily meal from local soup kitchens. They were run by volunteers from the local Emergency Response Rooms…Last year, USAID gave the Emergency Response Rooms $12 million, which accounted for 77 percent of the soup kitchens’ funding, said Mohamed Elobaid, who manages the group’s finances. When the stop-work order came in January, Fadul said, almost all the soup kitchens in her neighborhood shut down overnight. So her children starved.

Her daughter Nada, only 18 months old, starved to death in February, she said, and was often too weak to cry. Three-year-old Omer, who loved to wrestle with his siblings and dreamed of owning a bike, lingered longer. First, his mother said, he began to lose his vision, which can be a side effect of malnutrition. Then he began asking fretfully for an absent brother. In his last days in March, he curled up on a mat, she said, begging her for porridge. ‘I told him we don’t have any wheat to make that,’ Fadul said. ‘He was suffering a lot and then he died around midnight.’ His mother wept, she recalled, then asked the neighbors to help bury him.”

Read the full Washington Post report here.

Trump Administration officials and Elon Musk have repeatedly said “no one has died” from USAID cuts. Mounting public reporting (see here, here, and here for a few more examples), anecdotal accounts from Sudan, and some of our own Sudanese partners —who have friends who used to receive USAID funding— have been saying otherwise for months. The administration previously announced that funding is being restored for urgent, life-saving work. But in many places like Sudan that still hasn’t happened. Aid workers have been let go and payment systems were destroyed by DOGE. Vulnerable communities are still without the help they desperately need.

In response to several questions from the Post, the State Department press office said it was “reorienting our foreign assistance programs to align directly with what is best for the United States. … We are continuing lifesaving programs and making strategic investments that strengthen other nations and our own country…Americans are the most charitable and humanitarian-minded people in the world. It’s time for other countries to step up in providing lifesaving aid.”

So far, little of that statement appears to be true.

With USAID officially shuttered, the future of American support in Sudan is still unclear.

Only Congress has the legal authority to close USAID, but that didn’t stop the Trump Administration from fully shuttering the agency on July 1, 2025. Due to the legislative branch abdicating its authority and the unnecessarily destructive manner in which USAID was closed, not only will there be more unnecessary suffering in the world in the months ahead, but more avoidable disruption in the American political and governmental systems.

For decades, USAID enjoyed strong bipartisan support in Washington. The agency made up less than 1% of the entire federal budget —barely any money in the grand scheme of things— and received praise worldwide for helping to stabilize volatile areas and supporting communities climbing out of poverty. But what the American public thinks about foreign aid has never been easy to ascertain. According to Pew Research, “For many years, Americans have had, at best, mixed views about the effectiveness and desirability of foreign assistance.”

USAID’s role in national security become much clearer in recent years. Its success in countering Russian and Chinese influence through development and humanitarian work drew the ire of both authoritarian countries, and the agency played a critical role in preventing global health threats from reaching the United States. Given USAID’s outsized impact as such a tiny amount of the federal budget and the respect the agency brought to the United States abroad, it’s fair to say that USAID is a worthwhile investment that should not have been closed, even if some reforms and tweaks would have been beneficial.

What happens now?

Operation Broken Silence does not receive government funding; we rely entirely on individuals, families, and private institutions. However, like many small nonprofits operating in countries where USAID had a presence, our work often benefited indirectly from the humanitarian and economic stability the agency helped create. Humanitarian work is incredibly complex and requires a multitude of organizations supporting local heroes to tackle difficult challenges. No single group can do it all; but, when a powerhouse like USAID is suddenly removed from the situation, everyone suffers.

Humanitarian conditions in Sudan will continue growing more dire without USAID. More deaths from starvation and preventable diseases are now locked in for the months ahead. The suffering of the Sudanese people is already unbearable. Abandoning them now is unconscionable. We urge you to stand with them in this dark hour.

Operation Broken Silence is dedicated to Sudanese communities, cultivating resilience and driving meaningful change through crowdfunded programs. Our Sudanese partners are overwhelmed with needs as war and hunger spread. By joining our global campaign Miles For Sudan or giving below, you will help them serve the most vulnerable in this time of tremendous need.

Join Miles For Sudan

Can’t participate? Make a donation or set up a small monthly gift instead:

$1,000 - Fully funds one classroom at Endure Primary School in Yida Refugee Camp for half a semester.

$500 - Delivers food to Darfuri genocide survivors who have fled to South Sudan.

$250 - Provides a daily breakfast to 10 children for an entire month in Adré refugee camp, where many Darfuri genocide survivors now live.

$100 - Supports a sexual assault counselor in the Greater El Fasher area of North Darfur.

$50 - Helps bring school supplies to students in Yida Refugee Camp.

Checks can be made payable to Operation Broken Silence and mailed to PO Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900. You can also donate stock or crypto.

Operation Broken Silence a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law. Our EIN is 80-0671198.

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USAID was one of the leading international development agencies fighting famine in Sudan. Now that the agency has been illegally shuttered, the death toll of the world’s largest humanitarian emergency is soaring. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/death-toll-rising-in-sudan-after-usaid-cuts
While the Trump administration’s cuts to USAID this year have been felt deeply across the world, their impact in Sudan was especially deadly. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/death-toll-rising-in-sudan-after-usaid-cuts
Only Congress has the legal authority to close USAID, but that didn’t stop the Trump Administration from illegally shuttering the agency on July 1, 2025. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/death-toll-rising-in-sudan-after-usaid-cuts
Operation Broken Silence is dedicated to Sudanese communities, cultivating resilience and driving meaningful change through crowdfunded programs. Will you join us? https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/death-toll-rising-in-sudan-after-usaid-cuts

Mark Hackett 7/1/25 Mark Hackett 7/1/25

Sudan Crisis Guide - What You Need To Know

Trying to make sense of the war in Sudan? We’ll get you up to speed in just a few minutes.

This guide breaks down what’s happening in Sudan and why it matters. We update it regularly so you can stay informed. The latest update was on July 1, 2025. Want updates delivered directly to you? Join our email list. You can also find specific ways to help at the bottom of this guide.

The War In Sudan

Sudan is a beautiful country with a rich history in northeast Africa, just south of Egypt along the Red Sea. With over 50 million people and deep diversity, Sudan sits at the crossroads of Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. It’s also the third-largest country on the continent.

On April 15, 2023, a brutal war broke out between:

Sudan Armed Forces (SAF): The country’s official military, including the army, air force, and navy.
Rapid Support Forces (RSF): A paramilitary group formed by a previous dictatorship.

Both sides failed to eliminate each other’s leadership and the violence quickly spiraled into a nationwide crisis. Police units, intelligence services, local militias, and some rebel groups from past conflicts have taken sides. The RSF is also recruiting foreign mercenaries from across the Sahel.

Why Are Sudan’s Warring Factions Fighting?

The military and RSF were once allies. That began to change in October 2021, after they teamed up to overthrow a civilian-led reform government. Tensions rose rapidly between both sides after the coup. RSF commander Mohamed “Hemeti” Dagalo sees himself as Sudan’s next dictator, while SAF generals believe they are the rightful rulers.

It’s important to note that the majority of the Sudanese people want neither in charge. A majority want a democratic, civilian government. There are also deep ethnic divisions driving the violence:

SAF: Led mostly by elite Nile Valley Arab officers, some of Sudan’s most privileged groups. While SAF is ethnically mixed at the ground level, Arab supremacy and racism persist. Army units have carried out ethnically targeted attacks on civilians.
RSF: Dominated by Arab tribes from Darfur. Many commanders and fighters hold a violent, extremely racist ideology that promotes the ethnic cleansing of Darfur’s African communities and subjugation of all other Sudanese Arab.

This map shows approximate areas of control in Sudan:

Pink: Sudan Armed Forces and Joint Forces allies
Green: Rapid Support Forces and militia allies
Purple: SLM, a Darfuri rebel group from previous wars
Yellow: SPLM-N, indigenous rebel group in the Nuba Mountains from previous wars
Orange: RSF and SPLM-N have a fragile alliance with troops that overlap in some areas.

After capturing Khartoum in March 2025 , SAF launched two major offensives into central Sudan, expanding their control and pushing westward toward RSF strongholds in Darfur. But by the end of May the RSF ground this push to a halt.

SAF’s long supply lines and ongoing fuel shortages —caused in part by RSF drone strikes on critical infrastructure— has weakened the army’s ability to continue advancing. Meanwhile, the RSF is now operating closer to their main bases with tighter supply lines.

Neither side seems capable of securing an outright victory. As the war grinds on, it’s the Sudanese people —trapped between bombs, drone strikes, food blockades, and targeted brutality— who continue to suffer most.

Sudan’s Humanitarian Crisis: The World’s Largest Emergency

It’s barely in the news, but Sudan is now collapsing before the world’s eyes. Khartoum’s neighborhoods lie in ruins. In the oppressed western Darfur region, entire communities are being annihilated by the RSF. Villages are burning, crops are rotting in the fields, and families are fleeing with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Food, medicine, and safety are all vanishing.

This war is just as much a war on the Sudanese people as it is between rival generals. The RSF is targeting ethnic African minorities for extermination and SAF is blocking aid access to large swaths of the country. War crimes are being committed en masse by both sides. The human toll is staggering:

No one knows the death toll, but 180,000+ people have likely been killed by violence, starvation, and disease outbreaks. This is a moderate estimate.
Nearly 30 million Sudanese —over half of the entire country— are facing high levels of acute food insecurity. Over 1.7 million Sudanese have descended into famine or near-famine conditions.
Almost 15 million people have been forced to flee their homes or have left Sudan as refugees.
Over 80% of the country’s healthcare system is closed down or destroyed. Diseases outbreaks are spreading quickly.
90% of schools are closed, leaving 19 million children with no classroom to attend.

*Maps: The latest famine tracking and projections from The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. (source*)

What Are World Leaders Doing to End the War in Sudan?

World leaders have largely turned a blind eye as Sudan burns. A smattering of diplomatic efforts have failed to bring about a lasting ceasefire. International aid is only 14% funded for 2025, leaving millions of Sudanese facing hunger and disease. Even in refugee camps outside of Sudan, where aid is much easier to deliver, hunger is rampant due to the severe lack of attention.

The recent chaos the Trump Administration has inflicted on USAID —one of the largest providers of lifesaving food relief in Sudan— has resulted in the reported closure of over 60% of Sudanese-run emergency food kitchens, threatening to push more areas of the country into full-blown famine. Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, and Russia are making things worse by supplying weapons and resources to either SAF or RSF, further fueling the violence.

Despite these challenges, ordinary Sudanese are still finding ways to help each other, with grassroots efforts like public kitchens being their lifeline. The international community can and should be doing far more to support Sudanese-led initiatives and prevent a total collapse into failed statehood.

How You Can Help The People of Sudan

Operation Broken Silence is dedicated to Sudanese communities, cultivating resilience and driving meaningful change through crowdfunded programs. In June 2025, our supporters gave $13,600 to Sudanese heroes, including teachers, aid workers, sexual assault counselors, and healthcare professionals. Here’s how you can join us.

1. Sign Up For Miles For Sudan

Our global event turns everyday runs, bike rides, and walks into lifesaving support. Every mile you put in and dollar you raise helps fund emergency aid and long-term education programs led by Sudanese heroes.

Not a fan of fitness? No problem! We have an option where you can skip the moving and just fundraise. Every dollar raised still makes a difference. And the best part? Donations to your fundraising page will be matched!

Join Miles For Sudan

2. Give Once or Monthly

Make a donation or set up a small monthly gift instead:

$1,000 - Fully funds one classroom at Endure Primary School in Yida Refugee Camp for half a semester.

$500 - Delivers food to Darfuri genocide survivors who have fled to South Sudan.

$250 - Provides a daily breakfast to 10 children for an entire month in Adré refugee camp, where many Darfuri genocide survivors now live.

$100 - Supports the monthly work of a sexual assault counselor in Zamzam displacement camp in North Darfur, Sudan.

Checks can be made payable to Operation Broken Silence and mailed to PO Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900. You can also donate stock or crypto.

Operation Broken Silence a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law. Our EIN is 80-0671198.

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How is this not the biggest story in the world right now? Sudan is collapsing and almost no one is talking about it. Check out this 🔗 to learn what’s happening and how to help. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/sudan-crisis-guide
The world’s largest humanitarian crisis is happening right now in Sudan. It’s not making headlines—but it should be. This helpful guide breaks it down. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/sudan-crisis-guide
Sudan is facing the worst humanitarian emergency on the planet. Mass hunger. War crimes. Millions displaced. The world must pay attention. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/sudan-crisis-guide
Operation Broken Silence is dedicated to Sudanese communities, cultivating resilience and driving meaningful change through crowdfunded programs. We’ve been doing this for over a decade. You can help, too: https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/sudan-crisis-guide

Mark Hackett 6/5/25 Mark Hackett 6/5/25

Letter to Congress supporting joint resolutions of disapproval for arms sales to the UAE

Operation Broken Silence is joining 47 organizations in urging Congress to vote in favor of resolutions to block major arms sales to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in light of evidence of UAE support to the killing of civilians in Sudan.

Operation Broken Silence is joining 47 organizations in urging Congress to vote in favor of resolutions to block $1.6 billion in arms sales to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in light of evidence of UAE support to the killing of civilians in Sudan.

Senate Letter

House Letter

What does this mean?

Today, Sudan is home to the world’s largest human rights and humanitarian catastrophe, brought on by two years of extreme warfare between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Khartoum’s neighborhoods already lie in ruins and, in Darfur, entire communities have been annihilated by the RSF. Villages are burning and families are fleeing with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Famine is rampant and access to healthcare is evaporating.

Independent investigations by human rights organizations, journalists, and a United Nations panel have concluded that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has provided weapons and other support to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). In January 2025, members of Congress confirmed that the UAE is providing weapons to the RSF despite a pledge that it would not do so. Then Secretary of State-designate Marco Rubio subsequently noted that the UAE is “openly supporting” the RSF.

The RSF has committed widespread atrocities throughout Sudan’s ongoing conflict, including war crimes and the horrific use of sexual violence. The UAE’s support to the RSF directly violates a longstanding United nations arms embargo on Sudan and has fueled the suffering of millions of Sudanese civilians.

With nearly 15 million people displaced and over half of the country in desperate need of food and medicine, it is more critical than ever that the U.S. exert its influence to help stem the flow of weapons into Sudan. These resolutions –S.J.Res.51, S.J.Res.52, S.J.Res.54, H.J.Res.96, and H.J.Res.97— can help play a meaningful step toward accountability and reducing the violence.

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