Catholic agencies welcome UN funding appeal for Sudan

Families shelter in former bus station turned displacement site for nearly 6,000 people in Gedaref, Sudan. Photo: OCHA/Giles Clarke

CAFOD and Caritas Internationalis have welcomed today's launch of UNOCHA and UNHCR funding appeal for Sudan.

Howard Mollett, Head of Humanitarian Policy at the Catholic aid agency CAFOD, said: "The UN appeal comes at a critical time. Over forty percent of global funding for life-saving programmes in Sudan came from the US government until now. Given the chaos caused by the US administration's decisions to shut-down USAID, we desperately need other governments step in. There are millions of people in Sudan facing famine, extreme hunger and suffering."

The protracted conflict in Sudan, approaching its second anniversary in April 2025, continues to inflict immense suffering on the civilian population. Acute food insecurity, disease and sexual violence are rampant, with famine conditions verified in several regions, including IDP camps in North Darfur and the Western Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan.

The displacement crisis, both within Sudan and in neighboring countries, has reached untenable levels. More than eight million people have been internally displaced and nearly 3.5 million people have fled Sudan since April 2023, primarily seeking refuge in the neighbouring countries.

While these countries continue to show remarkable solidarity and generosity in welcoming and hosting refugees from Sudan, they urgently need additional support to sustain this effort. Without increased funding, their capacity to assist will soon reach a critical point."

Howard Mollett added: "National and local civil society organisations have been the first responders throughout Sudan's on-going crisis, and we must continue and expand support to them. Local church groups, community networks and women's groups risk their lives every day to support people trying to survive and find a way to safety in this cruel war. Funding through the UN system was already struggling to reach those groups, and this will only get harder as US funding is cut and international agencies struggle to adapt. Donors should rally to this appeal and increase support through partnerships rooted in solidarity with local groups."

Until now, CAFOD's work to support life-saving programmes in Sudan has been mostly supported through generous donations from supporters of CAFOD in the Catholic community in the UK. The agency works through long-term partnerships with the local church, women-led organisations and other community networks. More widely, Sudanese diaspora networks have also played important roles in support to local mutual aid groups across Sudan. Insufficient funding, compounded by concerns about the impact of the US funding freeze, further exacerbates the already dire humanitarian situation.

Kayode Akintola, Head of Africa region at CAFOD, said: "The UN Appeal for Sudan and the regional response to forced displacement from Sudan must be a wake-up call to the international community. CAFOD, through its local partners, is continuing to provide essential cash, food, water, sanitation, and protection services to thousands of displaced individuals, ensuring immediate relief during this crisis. There is an urgent need to increase support for life-saving efforts like these across Sudan and neighbouring countries hosting Sudanese refugees, not cut or undermine that support.

The cost of inaction is high and already affects millions of lives. We therefore urge the international community to demonstrate greater solidarity and generous financial support to respond to the increasing needs and alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese, both inside the country and in the neighbouring countries.

In addition to financial support, we also call for more assertive international engagement in seeking diplomatic and inclusive peaceful solutions to the conflict in Sudan, ensuring that all voices are heard in the process.

We welcome the upcoming Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) in mid-March to take stock of aid efforts to Sudan as an opportunity to address these issues and we strongly advocate to ensure large participation of local NGOs and civil society organisations, including women-led organisations, in those discussions."

CAFOD is working to implement a coordinated response programme in Sudan in partnership with other agencies in the Caritas Internationalis confederation and ACT alliance; thereby bringing together the two largest church linked networks of humanitarian organisations in the world. A joint Caritas and ACT appeal has been launched, and member agencies of both networks are doing everything they can to raise funds from their supporters and donors around the world in support of aid efforts in Sudan.

If people would like to donate to the CAFOD appeal (which is part of the wider coalition appeal), see: Sudan Crisis Appeal