©UNHCR/Reason Moses Runyanga
Sudan
Sudan’s humanitarian crisis: No one is spared
Your support can protect vulnerable lives in the world's largest displacement emergency
Sudan
Your support can protect vulnerable lives in the world's largest displacement emergency
When the shooting started, Zakaria didn’t have time to think.
Armed men had stormed her village in Sudan. As the family fled, Zakaria’s 14-year-old son, Mohammed, was shot in the leg. With no transport and nowhere to hide, Zakaria lifted Mohammed onto her back and walked for seven hours under constant threat.
Tragically, her two younger sons were killed on their journey to find safety.
By the time they reached safety, Mohammed could no longer walk.
Today, Zakaria and Mohammed live in Farchana refugee camp in eastern Chad. Despite a series of surgeries, Mohammed has lost mobility in his injured limb. They are among millions of people whose lives have been upended by the violence in Sudan – a crisis so vast and devastating it has become the world’s worst humanitarian and displacement emergency.
Since conflict erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in April 2023, violence has torn through towns and cities, forcing families to flee again and again. Homes have been destroyed. Livelihoods lost. Entire communities uprooted.
Nearly 12 million people are now displaced, both inside Sudan and to neighbouring countries.
Families are arriving at borders exhausted and traumatised, often with nothing but the clothes they are wearing. Camps and host communities in neighbouring countries, including Chad and South Sudan, are under immense pressure as arrivals continue.
Vital infrastructure in parts of the country has collapsed, access to basic services such as safe water, health care and shelter is severely limited. Millions of children are facing acute levels of food insecurity and more than a dozen regions are teetering on the brink of famine. In some areas, famine conditions have already been confirmed.
Yet amid this overwhelming crisis, some people face even greater danger.
Asma was living in El Fasher, western Sudan, when fighting engulfed the city. Her husband and father were killed in the violence. As she searched desperately for other family members, she joined a group of six women trying to escape.
They were stopped by armed men.
“Three men took me away,” Asma says quietly. “I don’t know what happened to the other women.”
Asma eventually managed to escape and flee to Chad, where she was reunited with her mother and young daughter. She is safe – for now. But the trauma she carries is profound.
Today, Asma volunteers in the refugee camp, supporting other women who have experienced gender-based violence. She listens to their stories, helps them access services, and offers comfort to those who feel lost and alone.
“What I need most right now is a safe place,” she says.
UNHCR supports spaces in refugee camps where women and girls can access counselling, medical referrals and protection services in dignity and confidence. But these vital spaces are closing as funding runs dangerously low. Women like Asma are at risk of losing the support they need to heal and rebuild their lives.
For Zeynab*, the war in Sudan has taken almost everything.
“My mother and brother were killed by an airstrike,” she says. “I was two months pregnant but lost the baby.”
Zeynab fled with her husband, hoping to escape the violence. But along the way, armed men attacked them. Her husband was taken. She has not seen him since.
Zeynab arrived alone at a refugee camp in Chad – grieving, injured and with no resources.
“I have been here for two months with no money,” she says. “It has been very difficult. I am scared of young men. I am in pain and haven’t found the right medication. I have nothing.”
For refugees like Zeynab, emergency cash assistance can make an immediate, life-saving difference.
Cash allows people to buy the food, medicine and other basic essentials they need, restoring independence.
With your support, UNHCR can provide emergency cash assistance to help women like Zeynab survive.
*Name changed for protection reasons
For families who have fled with nothing, shelter is more than a roof overhead. It is safety, privacy and dignity.
In Farchana refugee camp, where Zakaria and Mohammed now live, the population has grown rapidly as violence continues to force people across the border. Resources are stretched thin. Many families live in overcrowded conditions, makeshift shelters or out in the open.
Despite the immense challenges, UNHCR teams remain on the ground in Sudan and neighbouring countries, delivering life-saving aid every day.
With your help, UNHCR is:
But the situation is becoming unbearable.
Funding is not keeping pace with needs. This means many critical programs are being scaled back just as the crisis deepens. Without urgent support, families who have already lost everything may lose even basic assistance.
Zakaria is doing everything she can to care for her son. Asma is helping other women heal from unimaginable trauma. Zeynab is fighting to survive, one day at a time.
They cannot do it alone.
Please help protect vulnerable lives in Sudan.
Your support can protect vulnerable lives in the world's largest displacement emergency
Millions of people are displaced after two years of war in Sudan. Now, a funding gap is threatening to stop life-saving aid from reaching those who need it most.
The majority of funds raised by Australia for UNHCR are directed to UNHCR’s emergency operations, providing the ready funds and resources to respond quickly and effectively in situations of crisis and disaster.