News & Updates
Check out the latest from Sudan and our movement
Darfur Emergency Aid Update - July 2024
An important update on the famine in Sudan and how you can help.
Program Background
Shortly after war began in Sudan in April 2023, Darfur became ground zero for some of the worst atrocities committed in modern history. The national army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) battle against each other for control of Sudan morphed into the largely Arab RSF launching a hate-driven assault on Darfur’s historic ethnic African groups, such as the Zaghawa, Fur, and Masalit.
Between April and June of 2023 alone, the RSF and their allied Arab militias committed a highly organized genocide of up to 15,000 Masalit people in El Geneina, West Darfur. The brutal paramilitary force followed up this extermination with a shock offensive across Darfur in October, seizing all but one state capital and driving most army forces out of the region.
One of our private Sudanese partners assisted persecuted ethnic groups fleeing RSF war crimes during this period. They helped nearly 2,000 refugees escape the Central, South, and East provinces and cross into South Sudan. This lifesaving work ended in November when the RSF completed its occupation of the area. We are proud of the brave team who worked around the clock at great personal risk to help some of the most vulnerable escape.
Operation Broken Silence has since shifted to emergency food and medical support for some of the most at-risk Darfur displaced and refugee communities. We are supporting key indigenous leaders in three areas:
Zamzam Displacement Camp near El Fasher, North Darfur
Adré Refugee Camps in eastern Chad
Gorom Refugee Camp near Juba, South Sudan
We have some important updates from these partners below, but first we need to provide you with the big picture of the emergency in Darfur and the camps. It is not possible to grasp the importance of the work being done by these leaders without knowing the grave conditions they are working in.
Map: Locations of Darfur heroes we are supporting. (Operation Broken Silence)
Security & Hunger Overview
Acute hunger in Darfur is now threatening more lives than direct violence by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Refugees coming into Chad —often with dangerously thin arms and thousand-yard stares— bring stories of witnessing extreme violence and feel the deep pangs of hunger.
It cannot be overstated that this unfolding famine is entirely manmade. Darfur under RSF occupation is a human rights and humanitarian nightmare. The ethnic cleansing of historic African tribes is ongoing. Rape and sexual violence are widespread. Unhinged RSF units are running out of markets, banks, farms, and storehouses to plunder.
The national army —Sudan’s defacto regime, also guilty of heinous crimes— continues denying large-scale aid access to Darfur. Army generals who are driven by hate and paranoia wrongly believe allowing aid in would legitimize the RSF; so, they’d rather participate in starving ordinary Sudanese to death.
Graphic: Mapping hunger in Sudan. Click or tap to expand. (IPC)
The few international aid convoys that manage to enter Darfur are at high risk of being attacked. To provide a recent example, three United Nations trucks were looted on July 1 while trying to deliver food to the rebel stronghold of Jebel Marra in Central Darfur, the last true safe haven in all of western Sudan neither under RSF nor army control.
Compounding this abysmal situation are two critical problems. First, the upcoming harvest in Sudan is expected to be severely depleted for a second year due to most farmers not being able to work. Second, a mere 16% of the funds needed to blunt famine in 2024 have been donated by the international system, and it is now over halfway through the year. This means that acute hunger is being felt in the refugee camps outside of Sudan too —where it is much easier to get aid in— simply because there is not enough funding.
This perfect storm has led the International Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) to issue 14 area famine warnings for Sudan, the majority of them in Darfur. 25.6 million Sudanese —half the country— are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity. 436,000 of the 755,000 people facing “catastrophic” levels of hunger (i.e. famine) live in Darfur.
The IPC is a global authority on food security and nutrition analysis; as such, these famine warnings are official data-driven determinations that speak to just how large and immediate the threat to human life now is. We encourage you to watch this short explainer video from the IPC.
This is the bleak environment our Sudanese partners are operating in. Every day they witness preventable death and suffering brought on by a senseless war and a criminal lack of global attention. They need ongoing support and all the help they can get.
Our Response
Operation Broken Silence is supporting key indigenous leaders who are bringing food and medical aid to their people. They are working in areas that host some of the most vulnerable survivors of the war:
Team Zamzam near El Fasher, North Darfur
El Fasher and nearby Zamzam camp in North Darfur are surrounded and under siege by the Rapid Support Forces. El Fasher is the only remaining army foothold in all of Darfur, and a sizable number of anti-RSF rebels and militias are holding out in the city as well. It’s estimated that around 2 million Sudanese —many belonging to ethnic groups such as the Zaghawa and Fur that the RSF are trying to exterminate— are trapped in the Greater El Fasher area.
Limited resources are still being smuggled into the area, but food prices alone have surged by more than 300%. Clean drinking water is scarce and most businesses and nearby farms are closed. Worsening this crisis is the RSF’s recent attack on Southern Hospital, which leaves no facility capable of providing care during this mass casualty event.
Team Zamzam consists of 20 female counselors who are distributing food, sanitizing soap, and medicine to the disabled and blind, the very elderly, unaccompanied children, widows who have taken in children, and those with severe acute malnutrition. They have also provided counseling to over 4,000 women who were sexually assaulted and arranged reparative surgeries for women suffering from traumatic fistulas. This is now likely the largest ongoing humanitarian assistance program in Darfur.
In May and June, Team Zamzam provided food assistance to 600 families (roughly 3,000 people), but only by cutting in half the amounts of food received by 300 families in the preceding month. They need at least $20,000 per month to continue saving lives, and even more would help them expand their efforts. These funds purchase and deliver food and medicine, pay a small salary to the counselors, and rehabilitate broken water wells. Fistula surgeries are no longer possible due to the local healthcare system being destroyed.
Refugee Leaders in Adré, eastern Chad
Over a dozen refugee camps around Adré are overwhelmed as survivors of the Darfur genocide continue arriving. All of the camps lack services to meet minimum clean drinking water, food, and medical needs. Rations provided by the international community have been cut before due to a lack of funding and interest.
25 volunteer health professionals and support staff —all refugees— are running a small medical clinic and feeding program to serve the most vulnerable, particularly orphaned children and the disabled. This is the only general medical clinic serving all ages in the camps. Every day they provide free care and medication to 150+ people and feed 600 children who would otherwise starve to death.
Over the past six months this team has treated several thousand patients for conditions that include malaria, typhus, diarrhea, malnutrition, heart disease, gynecological issues, diabetes as well as a full range of pediatric illnesses and conditions. Over 20 different types of medications have been distributed to those in need. Due to limited resources the clinic has a first come-first serve policy, with hundreds of patients lining up as early as 6AM. The feeding center serves millet porridge and beans and rice with milk for breakfast at 9AM daily. Similar to the clinic, children begin forming a line as early as 7AM in hopes of getting food.
The clinic and feeding program need at least $8,500 per month to continue operating at current levels. They are able to expand the services they provide to meet more needs, but currently lack the funding to do so.
Nuba Education Partner near Juba, South Sudan
Darfuri refugees who are unable to reach eastern Chad usually head for South Sudan, where refugee camps are overwhelmed and there are few to no services. One of these camps is Gorom just outside of Juba. The camp was originally planned for 2,000 refugees, but it has exploded in size over the past 9 months to include over 17,000 people, mostly from Darfur.
Our Nuba education partner has an office in Juba and recently provided food aid to 112 of the most needy families here. Food bags have included items such as sorghum, beans, oil, and salt. Similar to the situation in the Adré camps, a severe lack of international funding and attention means few food and aid services are available in Gorom, and none at the scale needed.
They need at least $4,500 per month to continue this lifesaving work. For now, they have completely run out of funding to feed the hungry in Gorom. They are able to expand to meet more needs, but will require additional funding to do so.
These heroes need your help.
Each of our Sudanese partners are a bulwark against spreading famine and food insecurity. They are uniquely positioned to do tremendous good. With the international community doing so little to fight this crisis, directly funding their efforts are all the more critical to fend off the most dire outcomes. Your generosity can save lives now and help them prepare for what lies ahead.
$4,000: fund the children’s feeding program in Adré for a month
$2,500: repair a broken well in Zamzam Camp
$1,000: provide most basic medicines needed at the Adré clinic for one week
$500: feed 10 families in Gorom Camp for a month
$250: help Team Zamzam expand their services
$100: support a Zamzam counselor for a month
$50: feed a family in Gorom Camp for a month
Join Miles For Sudan | Donate Stock or Crypto
Checks can be made payable to Operation Broken Silence with Food written in the memo line and mailed to PO Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900.
Operation Broken Silence is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Your donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law.
Shareables
Short statements you can share online and with others. Simply copy and paste.
Share Our Posts: Instagram | Threads | Facebook | LinkedIn | Reddit
It’s not in the news, but the world’s largest humanitarian emergency is unfolding in Sudan. Learn more and help: https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/darfur-emergency-relief-update-july-2024
Operation Broken Silence is helping provide emergency food and medical support to some of the most at-risk Darfur displaced and refugee communities. Learn more and get involved: https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/darfur-emergency-relief-update-july-2024
“It cannot be overstated that the unfolding famine in Sudan is entirely manmade. Darfur under RSF occupation is a human rights and humanitarian nightmare.” https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/darfur-emergency-relief-update-july-2024
These heroes are a small bulwark against spreading famine in Sudan. With the international community doing so little to fight this crisis, small efforts like these are all the more critical in fending off the most dire of outcomes. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/darfur-emergency-relief-update-july-2024
Nuba Education Update - June 2024
Learn about one of the few childhood education programs still serving Sudanese children and support teachers on the ground.
Program Background
In 2015, Operation Broken Silence began funding four Sudanese teachers in Yida Refugee Camp. They were giving lessons underneath a tree with half of a broken chalkboard and no support.
We sprung into action and helped them scale their effort into the Endure Primary and Renewal Secondary Schools. 24 Nuba teachers overseen by a headmaster come to work here every day, where they instruct over 700 students in their classrooms. Endure Primary is the top-performing elementary school in the region and Renewal Secondary is the only fully-functioning high school in Yida. More than 11,000 children have been served at the schools to date.
Beyond these schools, we also provide teaching support to Yida’s only other secondary school, supply a limited amount of supplies to eight additional primary schools in the camp, and oversee a national exam prep program for most of Yida’s primary students.
Today, Operation Broken Silence remains the only nonprofit in the world supporting childhood education in Yida Refugee Camp. The teachers and students work hard every day, and they rely on supporters like you to continue doing so.
Hannah’s Story
Hannah’s family came to Yida as refugees several years ago. She was born in the Nuba Mountains but was too young to remember her village when they left.
“My mother brought us to Yida because there was no water or food in the village. She remembers seeing the Antonov (regime warplane) fly above but it never hurt us the way it did others.”
Humanitarian conditions in Yida were better than in the Nuba Mountains when they arrived. Hannah’s mother had heard there was ample clean water access in Yida and multiple schools for her children to attend, but even she was surprised by just how much safer and easier it was to thrive in Yida.
Like so many families here, Hannah’s hopes to return to their village in the Nuba Mountains when there is peace one day. For now she is enrolled in our education program, which is funded entirely by people just like you. For Hannah, she knows the best thing she can do right now is come to school.
“I don’t think people in the world know how bad it is for students in Sudan. A girl who came to Yida early this year joined our class. She says most schools in Sudan are closed because of war. I try to imagine all the empty classrooms. It is hard. All the children of our generation need the opportunity we have here. We come to school everyday for them and not just ourselves.
We are thankful for bringing us school supplies and helping our teachers. My people feel alone right now but at school we can see that we heard and believed in by people all over the world. Thank you for supporting our schools.”
Recent Updates
Endure Primary & Renewal Secondary. Life at the schools goes on despite Sudan’s severe hardships. Student attendance continues to fluctuate at Endure Primary as some families return to Nuba and others arrive in Yida, which is more or less the trend since 2021. Over the past two months attendance at Endure has hovered around roughly 500 students. Daily attendance at Renewal Secondary has been a bit more stable due to the lack of secondary schools in the Nuba region, with 210 students sitting for classes on most days. This is on the lower of end of enrollment compared to previous years; however, as we’ll get to in a moment, we expect attendance to start ticking up again soon.
Teachers at both schools will begin preparing Primary 8 and Secondary 4 students for national exams in August. Endure Primary and Renewal Secondary have been the top-performing schools in the region when it comes to testing the past several years. Last year, we saw a record 43 of the 45 students who took the Grade 8 national exam pass.
Basic repairs are currently underway at a few classrooms at both schools. Seasonal rains just arrived and, as usual, exposed some maintenance needs. New weatherproofing tarps and roofing are being replaced and a few walls rebuilt. Most of the materials needed were pulled from storage and those stocks are beginning to run low. By the end of the rainy season in a few months we’ll likely need to replenish several building and repair items.
Supplementary Education Support. Endure Primary School continues serving as the central national exam preparation facility for primary students in Yida. The camp’s eight other primary schools receive support and resources annually from our teachers for student test prep. This supplementary program is expected to positively impact 1,600 students this year!
Vision Secondary, the only other high school in Yida, remains afloat with help from our teachers. The school was founded several years ago with pledges of support from outside nonprofits and churches, not a single one of which materialized. The teachers at Vision are all untrained, so a handful of our teachers at Renewal Secondary have stepped in to help teach science and provide general guidance.
Our Nuba education partner has made three deliveries this year of limited supplies to Yida’s eight additional primary schools, most of which operate with no outside support. There continues not to be enough basic items like chalk, paper, pencils and notebooks. While deliveries like these don’t meet all the material needs we are seeing, they are critical to sustaining Yida’s fragile education system.
How war is impacting life at the schools
The devastating civil war that began in Sudan last year rages on today. Yida remains an oasis of calm, but the extreme violence and catastrophic humanitarian conditions in Sudan have cast a dark shadow here and brought new financial burdens for the schools.
Map: Location of Nuba Mountains. (Operation Broken Silence)
Local officials estimate that over 900,000 Sudanese have fled into the Nuba Mountains as war and famine have spread across Sudan. This is placing significant strains on the region and made prices of basic goods soar in Yida. Sporadic fighting on the western and northern frontlines in Nuba remains ongoing. The teachers and families at our schools are war-weary and frustrated that the world is ignoring the crimes being committed against their country.
If violence does erupt on a larger scale or humanitarian conditions worsen in Nuba —the latter of which especially seems likely— larger refugee flows into Yida will begin. This means more children will need to rely on our schools and the supplementary assistance we provide.
Like nearly every other need in Sudan right now, funding remains the largest obstacle for education in Yida. Rapidly rising costs from the war and a grueling international fundraising environment means our schools have only 55% of the funding needed to provide a holistic experience to students.
Internationally-minded donors are still struggling to comprehend the massive needs in Sudan as major media outlets cover Gaza 24/7 —and to a lesser degree Ukraine— despite Sudan being the largest and most severe emergency in the world. Our awareness efforts are slowly bringing more attention and funding to bear; however, this is still very much an uphill battle and not nearly enough to keep up with rising costs and needs. The teachers and students in Yida are facing a $65,000 shortfall in needed funding this year.
Despite the severe hardships in Sudan and these financial challenges though, the work being done by brave teachers and students at the schools continues on. We are pushing ahead with our fundraising as well despite the enormous barriers we face. Needs are rising and most everything is more expensive than it was a year ago; but, with your help, the lives of children —Sudan’s future hope— can still be changed for the better. We invite you to join us in supporting these amazing people to that end.
The Endure Primary and Renewal Secondary Schools are a small bulwark against the massive education crisis brought on by the war in Sudan. With so many schools across the country closed, every open classroom is more critical than ever. As humanitarian conditions in the Nuba Mountains get increasingly unstable, there is a rising chance we will see larger numbers of children returning to Yida in the near future. Right now, we don’t have the resources to mount an adequate response.
Your generosity can make the difference now and help the teachers prepare for what lies ahead. Giving options highlighted in bold are the best way to make the largest impact.
$2,200: Fund an entire classroom at Endure Primary for one semester.
$1,000: Support one teacher for an entire semester.
$750: Deliver three new chalkboards to classrooms.
$500: Provide additional materials and extra pay to teachers who are working with students to prepare them for national exams.
$250: Give pencils, notebooks and other supplies to 40 students in Yida Refugee Camp.
$100: Helps repair classrooms damaged by seasonal rains and provide for general maintenance.
$50: Give soccer balls and other sporting equipment to students.
Join Miles For Sudan | Donate Stock or Crypto
Checks can be made payable to Operation Broken Silence with Education written in the memo line and mailed to PO Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900.
Operation Broken Silence is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Your donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law.
Shareables
Short statements you can share online and with others. Simply copy and paste.
Share Our Posts: Instagram | Threads | Facebook | LinkedIn | Reddit
“I don’t think people in the world know how bad it is for students in Sudan...most schools are closed because of war. All the children of our generation need the opportunity we have. We come to school everyday for them and not just ourselves.” - Hannah https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/nuba-education-update-june-2024
Operation Broken Silence remains the only nonprofit in the world supporting childhood education in Yida Refugee Camp, right outside of Sudan. They rely on supporters like you to continue doing so. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/nuba-education-update-june-2024
Like every other need in Sudan, funding remains the largest obstacle for education. Rising costs from the war and a grueling fundraising environment means our schools have only 55% of the funding needed to provide a holistic experience to students. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/nuba-education-update-june-2024
Sudan is home to the largest and most dangerous humanitarian emergency, far outpacing every other crisis in the world. Food and healthcare are dwindling, and children are some of the most impacted. Here’s one way to help: https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/nuba-education-update-june-2024
Letter to President Biden concerning the crisis in El Fasher
Operation Broken Silence is joining over 150 organizations and experts in calling on the Biden Administration to take more decisive action in Sudan, specifically with regard to the rapidly deteriorating genocide emergency unfolding in the city of El Fasher.
Operation Broken Silence is joining over 150 organizations and experts in calling on the Biden Administration to take more decisive action in Sudan, specifically with regard to the rapidly deteriorating genocide emergency unfolding in the city of El Fasher.
What does this mean and why does it matter?
Fourteen long months of war and extreme violence between regime factions in Sudan has given way to the largest and most dangerous humanitarian emergency in the world. Almost 18 million Sudanese —a third of the country— are facing life-threatening levels of food insecurity. Nearly 11 million people have been forced to flee their homes or have left Sudan altogether.
Modestly optimistic estimations based on available data suggest 2.5 million Sudanese will perish by September 2024, if conditions do not improve in the coming weeks. Famine is now breaking out in the hardest hit areas of the country, particularly in Darfur and Kordofan. Large-scale hunger is already leading to growing death rates. And still, the world has barely noticed.
The threat to human life in Sudan has risen even more rapidly over the past several weeks. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have surrounded the El Fasher area in North Darfur, which is home to an estimated two million people. National army and anti-RSF militias are holding out in the city so far, but at an appalling price to terrified civilians who are being shelled and are running out of food. The trajectory El Fasher is on is toward large-scale loss of human life, one that could exponentially eclipse the slaughter in El Geneina last year that saw up to 15,000 of the ethnically African Masalit people exterminated by the RSF.
While the Biden Administration has taken some action —including appointing a committed Special Envoy, making an atrocity determination, and helping to pre-position aid supplies in countries around Sudan— the President himself has neither spoken out on the world’s largest humanitarian emergency, nor has his administration pursued more aggressive action to shut down the flow of weapons into Sudan and deliver aid through untraditional channels.
The United States must play its traditional role of international mobilizer when it comes to saving lives in Sudan. Historically that has always included verbal and tangible support from the President of the United States. Now is the time for President Biden to speak out and for his administration to take a more heavy-handed approach with Sudan’s warring generals and their international backers.
Photo: On June 6, every Washington Post newspaper delivered to the White House included a wrap ad featuring the letter and signatures. We know this action was seen widely at the White House and spurred additional conversations. (Humanity United)
The clock is ticking. The complete impunity enjoyed by army and Rapid Support Forces generals is the primary driver of ghastly crimes and spiraling humanitarian conditions, but the United States can play a vital role in reducing the scale of suffering and bringing this senseless war to an end.
While we await a response, we ask that you join us in taking direct action below.
How You Can Help
Operation Broken Silence is building a global movement to empower the Sudanese people through innovative programs as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. For over a decade, we've allied people just like you with incredible Sudanese heroes on the ground. Your gift will help them continue their lifesaving work.
Team Zamzam in Darfur, Sudan - 20 female counselors serving victims of sexual violence and malnutrition in Zamzam displacement camp near El Fasher. They are distributing food to the disabled, the elderly, orphans, widows who have taken in children, and those with severe acute malnutrition. This is the area of Sudan most in need right now.
Refugee Leaders in Adré, eastern Chad - Experienced local healthcare and aid workers are running a small feeding program and two clinics to provide food and care to the most vulnerable, specifically the disabled and orphans. This is where many survivors of the Darfur genocide have fled. Rations have been cut in the camp due to a lack of funding.
Education Office in Juba, South Sudan - Our Nuba education partner has an office in Juba, where thousands of refugees from Darfur have arrived traumatized and hungry. Few have been able to secure refugee food benefits due to severe lack of international funding. Our partner is trying to provide basic food but has only 20% of the funding they need to do it.
Other Ways To Support These Heroes
Checks can be made payable to Operation Broken Silence and mailed to PO Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900.
Join Miles For Sudan, the new global event helping runners, walkers, and cyclists convert their miles into dollars raised.
Purchase our Sudan Forever t-shirt to help raise awareness about this ignored crisis and deliver food relief.
Donate stock or crypto from your investment portfolio, which can come with unique tax benefits.
Operation Broken Silence is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Your donation is tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law.
Shareables
Short statements you can share online and with others. Simply copy and paste.
Share Our Posts: Instagram | Threads | Facebook | LinkedIn | Reddit
Over 150 organizations and experts are calling on the Biden Administration to take more decisive action in Sudan, specifically with regard to the rapidly deteriorating genocide emergency unfolding in the city of El Fasher. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/letter-to-president-biden-concerning-the-crisis-in-el-fasher
Fourteen long months of war and extreme violence between regime factions in Sudan has given way to the largest and most dangerous humanitarian emergency in the world. It’s time for world leaders to act. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/letter-to-president-biden-concerning-the-crisis-in-el-fasher
The Rapid Support Forces have surrounded El Fasher in North Darfur, which is home to an estimated two million people. The trajectory is toward large-scale loss of human life, one that could exponentially eclipse the slaughter in El Geneina last year. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/letter-to-president-biden-concerning-the-crisis-in-el-fasher
The complete impunity enjoyed by army and Rapid Support Forces generals is the primary driver of ghastly crimes and spiraling humanitarian conditions, but the United States can play a vital role in reducing the scale of suffering and bringing this senseless war to an end. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/letter-to-president-biden-concerning-the-crisis-in-el-fasher
Famine descends on Sudan, 2.5 million people could die from hunger by September 2024
Extreme violence, aid blockage, depleted harvests, and soaring prices have created the largest emergency in the world.
The greatest humanitarian emergency of our lifetime is unfolding in Sudan.
Almost no one has noticed, and time is running out.
•••••
When gunfire and explosions erupted in Khartoum in April 2023, it was clear that Sudan’s merciless generals would give no quarter to the Sudanese people. Fighting between the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) quickly spread across the country. So did the war crimes, which has given way to a full-blown genocide in Darfur perpetrated by the Arab-dominated RSF against the region’s ethnic African minorities. Gruesome images of mass executions, beheadings, and bodies left to rot in the streets have trickled out of Sudan ever since.
Indeed, this living nightmare is just as much a total war on Sudan’s diverse, beautiful citizenry as it is a battle for power between two of the most barbaric armed forces in the world. Fourteen long months of extreme violence has displaced 11 million people. Over 20 million children can no longer attend school and most farmers cannot work. Over 70% of Sudan’s healthcare system has been knocked offline, and the medical facilities that remain are overwhelmed and underfunded. Communication networks are collapsing, further hampering the Sudanese people’s efforts to get information out to the world.
As month after month has slipped by with no end in sight, food has become more and more scarce. A perfect storm of the army and RSF blocking humanitarian aid, extreme violence, depleted harvests, soaring prices, and a near criminal lack of international attention has brought Sudan to the brink of an unfathomable humanitarian catastrophe.
Almost 18 million Sudanese —one third of the entire country— are facing severe food insecurity. And, according to a new report, 2.5 million of those most at risk could perish from hunger over the next three months.
The Clingendael Institute, a Hague-based think tank on international affairs, recently released “From hunger to death: An estimate of excess mortality in Sudan, based on currently available information.” The detailed report opens with a grim picture of what lies ahead:
“Using food balance estimates based on published data on harvest and stocks, and somewhat optimistic estimates of stocks at household level, wheat imports and humanitarian food aid, excess mortality was calculated under a number of scenarios. A scenario in which the hungriest people are given small amounts of extra food by others leads to an estimated excess mortality of about 2.5 million people (about 15% of the population in Darfur and Kordofan, which are likely worst affected) by the end of September 2024.
A tipping point at which large-scale hunger transitions into large-scale death has likely already been reached in parts of the country in May.”
The full report can be viewed here. It contains technical language that may be unfamiliar to the general public, so we have pulled forward some key points below that get to the essence of this crisis.
Famine is descending on Sudan. Here’s what the near future could look like.
According to the report, it is estimated that 90% of excess mortality will be concentrated among roughly 10% of the population. Spreading hunger will likely be worst in Darfur and Kordofan where food production and humanitarian efforts are abysmally low due to targeted violence, insecurity, and the blockage of aid. This implies that about 15% of the population in Darfur and Kordofan will die from hunger and disease by September 2024 if there are no rapid improvements in food availability. Seasonal rains are coming soon and will likely make all forms of transporting food aid very difficult by early July. The below map is helpful in visualizing all of this.
While the below classifications consider the severity of hunger, it is the duration of hunger that may need more attention. If food deficits are below what the body can adjust to for long enough, many people will die even though they do not fall into the category of “catastrophic hunger.” Simply put, one cannot survive at emergency levels of food consumption for a long time.
Photo: Map from the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) showing how quickly Sudan is descending into famine.
Brave, informal community-level initiatives to share food and feed the hungriest households are increasingly precarious. If neighborhood “soup kitchens” face any uptick in harassment, money transfers being blocked by internet shutdowns, or food availability dwindling in markets, the number of people being served will reduce suddenly and drastically. And the lack of any sort of formal status of these groups means major international aid agencies are not working with them at scale.
While strengthening local mechanisms for food redistribution can make a real difference in the immediate future, it will neither be enough to stop hunger nor enough to avoid death in the longer term. All indications are that conflict, rising prices, and other challenges will lead to a below-average harvest in 2024, even if seasonal rains are good. There are also no indications that global imports of cereals —which feature heavily in the Sudanese diet— will return to pre-war levels anytime soon.
Unless there is a rapid, structural, and large-scale increase in the availability of food (i.e. a ceasefire and a massive humanitarian intervention) it can be expected that after a limited recovery immediately following an upcoming reduced harvest, the 2025 lean season will bring even worse hunger and death than this year will.
Chart: “Excess morality” is the number of deaths beyond what is expected under normal circumstances. (Clingendael)
A Few Notes From Us
For reasons beyond understanding, an official famine has not yet been declared, even though the few who are responding to this crisis are seeing hard evidence that the silent killer has arrived. Outgoing Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs recently said on June 4 that there is “a likelihood that five million people across the country [Sudan] could face famine. I don't think we've ever had that kind of number at risk of famine.”
This is no time to be cautious with our language. The famine is now here and, if something does not change soon, the next few months will provide ghastly evidence of this truth. Merely preventing the crisis from getting worse will lead to countless deaths. Hunger must be reversed if a complete death spiral is to be averted.
Sudan’s military elite are the driving force behind this crisis, but the international community’s refusal to hold them accountable and pursue less traditional ways of getting aid into the country in the interim is compounding the damage. This situation has been warned about for months. There was ample time for the world to get organized, creative, and aggressive in response. An effort to do so is only barely underway now, and small organizations like us are still overwhelmed with needs as we wait for the rest of the world to catch up.
That said, there are reasons to hope. The Clingendael report correctly points out that “even a modest redistribution of food to the hungriest people can substantially reduce excess mortality.” This is no long-term solution, but it does buy precious time that is running out. Time that ordinary Sudanese can use to escape the hardest hit areas or strengthen their own brave efforts to feed the most hungry. We ask that you join us in giving to that end, whatever you can spare.
How You Can Help
Operation Broken Silence is building a global movement to empower the Sudanese people through innovative programs as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. For over a decade, we've allied people just like you with incredible Sudanese heroes on the ground. Your gift will help them continue their lifesaving work.
Team Zamzam in Darfur, Sudan - 20 female counselors serving victims of sexual violence and malnutrition in Zamzam displacement camp near El Fasher. They are distributing food to the disabled, the elderly, orphans, widows who have taken in children, and those with severe acute malnutrition. This is the area of Sudan most in need right now.
Refugee Leaders in Adré, eastern Chad - Experienced local healthcare and aid workers are running a small feeding program and two clinics to provide food and care to the most vulnerable, specifically the disabled and orphans. This is where many survivors of the Darfur genocide have fled. Rations have been cut in the camp due to a lack of funding.
Education Office in Juba, South Sudan - Our Nuba education partner has an office in Juba, where thousands of refugees from Darfur have arrived traumatized and hungry. Few have been able to secure refugee food benefits due to severe lack of international funding. Our partner is trying to provide basic food but has only 20% of the funding they need to do it.
Other Ways To Support These Heroes
Checks can be made payable to Operation Broken Silence and mailed to PO Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900.
Join Miles For Sudan, the new global event helping runners, walkers, and cyclists convert their miles into dollars raised.
Purchase our Sudan Forever t-shirt to help raise awareness about this ignored crisis and deliver food relief.
Donate stock or crypto from your investment portfolio, which can come with unique tax benefits.
Operation Broken Silence is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Your donation is tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law.
Shareables
Short statements you can share online and with others. Simply copy and paste.
Share Our Posts: Instagram Stories | Threads | Facebook | LinkedIn | Reddit
Famine is descending on Sudan. 2.5 million people could die from hunger by September 2024. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/2-5-million-sudanese-could-die-from-hunger-by-september-2024
The greatest humanitarian emergency of our lifetime is unfolding in Sudan. Almost no one has noticed, and time is running out. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/2-5-million-sudanese-could-die-from-hunger-by-september-2024
The living nightmare unfolding in Sudan is just as much a total war on the country’s diverse, beautiful citizenry as it is a battle for power between two of the most barbaric armed forces in the world. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/2-5-million-sudanese-could-die-from-hunger-by-september-2024
Almost 18 million Sudanese —one third of the entire country— are facing severe food insecurity. And, according to a new report, 2.5 million of those most at risk could perish from hunger over the next three months. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/2-5-million-sudanese-could-die-from-hunger-by-september-2024
Operation Broken Silence is building a global movement to empower the Sudanese people through innovative programs. For over a decade, we've allied people just like you with incredible Sudanese heroes on the ground. Will you join us? https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/2-5-million-sudanese-could-die-from-hunger-by-september-2024
How El Fasher went from Darfur’s safe haven to all-out war
Artillery shells are tearing through displacement camps and crashing through residential homes. Food and medical supplies are rapidly running out. People are fleeing communities without even being able to bury the bodies of their loved ones.
This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian on May 29, 2024. It is written by Ahmed Gouja and edited by Philip Kleinfeld.
Photo: Homes burn in El Fasher, Darfur after a wave of RSF shelling. (Sudanese social media)
Artillery shells are tearing through displacement camps and crashing through residential homes. Food and medical supplies are rapidly running out. People are fleeing communities without even being able to bury the bodies of their loved ones.
This is the current situation in El Fasher, one of Darfur's largest cities and the latest epicentre of the year-long war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces – a war that has already displaced some nine million people and left vast numbers on the brink of famine.
UN officials have called the situation in El Fasher “Hell on Earth” and are warning that genocide crimes may be committed. Daily interviews that I am doing with friends and human rights monitors in El Fasher suggest that neither claim is an understatement.
“I have never seen anything worse than the condition of mothers and orphaned children crying inside the hospitals, in pain and agony,” Jamal*, a friend from El Fasher told me last week, after dozens of people were killed by shelling in his neighbourhood.
The battle for El Fasher – home to as many as two million people – started last month but had long been telegraphed. The city is the army’s final foothold in Darfur, the only place in the western region that the RSF has not captured over the past year.
Seizing the town will require the RSF – whose troops are mainly from Darfuri Arab communities – to defeat not just the army but various rebel groups whose fighters are mostly non-Arab Zaghawa, one of the main population groups in El Fasher.
As the fighting intensifies, human rights groups fear it could lead to mass targeting along ethnic lines. For now, most civilians are being harmed in crossfire shelling and because the RSF has encircled the city and imposed a brutal siege.
With few international aid groups present in El Fasher, and relief convoys unable to get inside, the only hope on the ground rests with a network of youth groups and emergency response rooms that are risking – and in some cases losing – their lives to help people in need.
Over the past few weeks, these mutual aid groups – which have emerged across Sudan – have been constructing a medical clinic for children after the main one in the city was hit by a shell, and have set up kitchens to feed people who fled RSF attacks.
“If you were not here, we would not only die from bullets but we would die from hunger,” an elderly displaced woman camped in a village just outside of El Fasher told a volunteer friend of mine called Mohammed, who relayed the conversation to me last week.
Continuous shelling
El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, had been a haven before the recent fighting. Hundreds of thousands of people had fled there as RSF fighters committed atrocities in other parts of Darfur, as well as in cities like Khartoum.
That calm has been shattered, with over 100 people killed and nearly 1,000 injured in recent fighting. The city’s only working hospital has just a few days of supplies left, according to the UN, and its water network has been compromised too.
Thousands have been displaced by the clashes, but escaping El Fasher requires passing through the RSF checkpoints that surround the city. Its fighters are charging those who want to flee, confiscating cars and possessions, and grilling people on their affiliations to the army and rebel groups.
The situation is perhaps most critical in Abu Shouk. This displacement camp houses victims of the 2000s Darfur conflict, which saw the state arm local Arab militias known as ‘Janjaweed’ (they later morphed into the RSF) to crush a revolt by mostly non-Arab armed groups.
The camp is on the outskirts of El Fasher and is located close to conflict front lines. In recent days, RSF shells have landed on civilian houses, killing dozens of people and causing massive blazes, according to Jamal, who is from Abu Shouk.
Jamal said he has seen body parts strewn on the ground and injured people walking around, their tears mixed with blood. He said people are dying because the camp clinic has no surgical capacity, and because it has no ambulance to take people to hospital.
"We do not know why the Rapid Support Forces target civilians and attack them with such heavy artillery,” Jamal told me. He said the continuous shelling is “robbing people of their dignity” and creating a sense of powerlessness and resignation.
Siege warfare and mutual aid
Abu Shouk is not the only affected place in El Fasher. The intensity of the fighting means there are few safe spaces left in the city, which conflict monitors at Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab have referred to as a “kill box”.
Last week, a local journalist shared a story on social media of an unaccompanied boy who turned up to a mosque for afternoon prayers in a southern neighbourhood. He was hit by a shell after worship, and died with no family to identify him.
Everybody is meanwhile affected by the siege. Though there are still food stocks in the city – and it is possible for some traders to smuggle in supplies – the prices of basic goods like meat, flour, sugar, pasta, and soap are soaring beyond people’s means.
If the siege continues, there is no question that many civilians are going to die, either through food shortages or because of a lack of medicine. People on the ground keep telling me they need the blockade and fighting to end now, not tomorrow and not the day after.
Despite the critical situation, the only real humanitarian responders are the local mutual aid groups, some of whose members have been killed or injured over the past few weeks.
Mohammed, the volunteer helping displaced people, said he wished members of the warring parties could see and hear the painful stories of affected people. If they saw what he saw, perhaps they would drop their guns and stop fighting, he told me.
How a ceasefire fell apart
Other community leaders and public figures in El Fasher have also played an important role in trying to counter the war. Though the battle for the city long felt like an inevitability, there are many individuals who struggled for months to prevent it.
Working alongside a dovish local governor, community leaders lobbied RSF and army leaders inside the city to stay in designated areas and not to fight. Darfur had suffered enough in recent years, they pleaded.
Yet the ceasefire broke down as military authorities replaced the governor with somebody more closely aligned with the army, and as community leaders were pushed to support military efforts in the face of mounting RSF crimes across the country.
Those crimes also challenged the neutrality of the various rebel groups in El Fasher. Having initially tried to distance themselves from the army and RSF – both loathed by many Sudanese – they eventually felt their political future required picking sides.
Tensions mounted as the army and the armed groups began large-scale recruitment efforts inside El Fasher, and as they welcomed in soldiers who had been ousted by the RSF from other parts of Darfur.
RSF leaders I spoke with said the army was using the ceasefire as an opportunity to reorganise. And they felt that capturing El Fasher was necessary for the legitimacy of the group, given that Darfur is their home base and stronghold.
One-sided narratives
There are now fears that if the RSF seizes El Fasher, it will launch deadly reprisals against civilians that it perceives as aligned with the army and armed groups. Those from the Zaghawa community are especially at risk.
These fears are clearly warranted: During its campaign to control West Darfur state last year, RSF forces killed thousands of non-Arab Masalit civilians, who they accused of supporting the army. The killings may have amounted to genocide.
That said, it is important that we do not see the RSF as the sole actor committing human rights violations, as most international media reports and analyses tend to do, leaning heavily on historical narratives of Janjaweed violence in the 2000s.
The RSF and its allied militias may well turn El Fasher into hell, but so might the army and the aligned rebel groups, who are armed to the teeth and spreading threatening hate speech on social media against Arab communities.
Before the battle for El Fasher commenced, myself and others documented many cases of Arabs in the city being arrested and even killed in areas controlled by the army and the armed groups. Many Arabs left their homes out of fear.
Meanwhile, in recent weeks, Zaghawa militias executed Arab civilians alongside RSF fighters in Shangil Tobaya, to the south of El Fasher. And Zaghawa militias also stole cattle belonging to Arab civilians in Baraka, a village to the west of El Fasher.
That small incident in Baraka soon spiralled and resulted in RSF fighters attacking and burning nine predominantly Zaghawa villages around El Fasher. It was the trigger for the wider battle we are now seeing for control of the city.
What can be done?
Going forward, it is important that Sudanese civil society groups show concern for all atrocities committed in El Fasher and beyond. It doesn’t matter if it is the RSF, the army, or the other armed groups. There is no single perpetrator and no single victim.
Civil society must also keep trying to resist the polarising forces of this conflict and refuse to take sides. My message to community leaders in El Fasher and elsewhere is that they must stay neutral – not just for a day or a month, but forever.
Finally, we must realise that the international community cannot protect civilians, and that nobody is going to ensure our safety. The UN and foreign states can make statements all they like, but their words have no meaning for civilians being killed.
Instead, we must work to empower the voices and actions of the frontline volunteers who are taking matters into their own hands. What they stand for is the precise opposite to those who are responsible for this war.
These volunteers represent our best chance of getting through this conflict and our best chance of building a just future. Those who depend on them right now in El Fasher know this all too well.
“You are the only ones feeding us every day,” the displaced woman camped just outside of El Fasher told my friend Mohammed, who has been handing out food amid gunfire and bombings. “I will pray for you forever.”
*For security reasons, only the first names of sources are being used.
The New Humanitarian puts quality, independent journalism at the service of the millions of people affected by humanitarian crises around the world. Find out more at www.thenewhumanitarian.org.
U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on conflict and humanitarian emergency in Sudan - May 2024
U.S. Special Envoy Tom Perriello provides updates on the current situation and recent U.S. efforts before taking questions.
Last week, the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee held an emotional hearing on the conflict and humanitarian emergency in Sudan. U.S. Special Envoy Tom Perriello provided updates on the current situation and recent U.S. efforts before taking questions.
Special Envoy Perriello captured the urgency of the moment well at the end of his opening comments, saying:
“As we speak, Sudan faces two distinct but accelerating trajectories – one towards famine and possibly a failed state, and the second towards peace and a democratic future. The only two barriers to ending this war are, first, the political will of two Generals and those fueling this horrific war, and second the absence of enough political will by those of us who could compel a peace. Our North Star is the aspirations of the Sudanese people. Our path is building and aligning enough will in the region to silence the guns and restore the Constitutional transition. That path can be paved, but time is very much not on our side.”
While the situation in Sudan looks pretty bleak in the near to medium term, Special Envoy Perriello did articulate how the United States is tightening up it’s efforts to bring the war to an end, get emergency relief to starving people, and document atrocities. This is a welcome development considering how scattershot American policy has been since the war began.
You can watch the entire hearing above. We understand it is long and encourage you to at least watch the exchange between Special Envoy Perriello and Senator Cory Booker beginning at 1:10:30. Both were recently in Sudanese refugee communities in eastern Chad. We’ve pulled forward a few noteworthy points below as well.
Summary
Special Envoy Perriello confirmed that the current trajectory in Sudan is toward famine. He was clear that U.S. policy is to end the war and restore the constitutional transition that began years ago, without a power-sharing agreement between “bad actors.”
The Biden Administration has elevated Sudan across “the interagency.” This simply means that multiple departments (State, Treasury, USAID, etc.) are working together to bring forward a more robust and coherent response to the crisis.
Securing tangible United Nations action for Sudan is now one of the U.S. government’s top three priorities at the global body.
The forum for ceasefire talks in Jeddah has been restructured to be inclusive of key African and Arab regional leaders and to focus on aligning external political will. Multiple attempts by various countries to broker a ceasefire in different venues over the past 12 months have been played against each other by Sudan’s generals, so this is an especially welcome development.
Trying to determine why there has been such a stunning lack of international attention to the emergency in Sudan —now the largest in the world— came up throughout the hearing. Special Envoy Perriello echoed several of the reasons we have previously outlined and described them as “a tragedy.”
The Biden Administration is prepared to expand sanctions on individuals and entities who are fueling the war.There are currently no “ready to go” civilian protection measures for Sudan, such as an United Nations or African Union peacekeeping force. Special Envoy Perriello’s office is raising the possibility of more robust measures with international partners.
The U.S. government is employing “a couple of efforts to use methodologies” to determine a more credible death toll from the war and mass killing. Special Envoy Perriello mentions that he has seen estimates ranging from 10,000 up to as high as 150,000.
We’re a nonprofit organization with over a decade of experience working alongside Sudanese heroes. Together we are making the story of Sudan known, empowering survivors, and working to build a renewed Sudan from the ground up. And we need your help.
Our Sudanese partners on the ground are overwhelmed with needs as the war spreads and hunger deepens. Your generosity will help them serve the most vulnerable in this time of tremendous need.
$2,200: Fund an entire classroom at Endure Primary School for one semester.
$1,000: Pays monthly salaries of 5 midwives.
$500 - Delivers food and clothing to Darfuri genocide survivors who have fled into South Sudan.
$250 - Supports a teacher and their classroom for one month.
$150 - Pays a nurse assistant’s salary for an entire month.
$100 - Give pencils, notebooks and other supplies to 16 students in Yida Refugee Camp.
$50 - Gives a day’s worth of medicine to three clinics.
Checks can be made payable to Operation Broken Silence with Hospital written in the memo line and mailed to PO Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900.
Join Miles For Sudan | Donate Stock or Crypto
Operation Broken Silence is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Your donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law.
Shareables
Short statements you can share online and with others. Simply copy and paste.
Share Our Posts: Instagram Stories | Threads | Facebook | LinkedIn | Reddit
The United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee recently held a hearing on the conflict and humanitarian emergency in Sudan. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/us-senate-foreign-relations-committee-hearing-on-sudan-may-2024
“As we speak, Sudan faces two distinct but accelerating trajectories – one towards famine and possibly a failed state, and the second towards peace and a democratic future.” https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/us-senate-foreign-relations-committee-hearing-on-sudan-may-2024
The U.S. government is employing “a couple of efforts to use methodologies” to determine a more credible death toll from the war and mass killing. Special Envoy Perriello says he has seen estimates ranging from 10,000 up to as high as 150,000 people. https://operationbrokensilence.org/blog/us-senate-foreign-relations-committee-hearing-on-sudan-may-2024