Sudan aid networks at risk of collapse, UN agencies warn

What Happened

The UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned on Monday that Sudan's emergency relief network is at risk of collapse due to fighting, heavy rains, displacement, and funding cuts. IOM Director General Amy Pope said the entire humanitarian system could collapse within weeks without new funding, and the agency said shelter and aid relief supplies via its Common Humanitarian Pipeline are expected to be depleted by the end of the month. IOM reported 8.6 million internally displaced people in Sudan, and said its network of nearly 100 national and international NGOs has supplied aid to 2.8 million people since July 2023. It estimates the cost of keeping its system running for a year to support 305,000 people at $15m, with $42m needed to return to 2024 aid levels. WFP funding has fallen from $645m last year to $206m so far this year, with acting Executive Director Carl Skau saying presence is not fully utilised because of lack of funding. Aid workers estimate more than 200,000 people have been killed since the war began in April 2023. In separate fighting, a senior Sudanese military official told Al Jazeera that RSF drone attacks on Damazin, capital of Blue Nile region, killed at least four civilians and wounded several others overnight, targeting civilian infrastructure and fuel stations.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

A collapse of the IOM Common Humanitarian Pipeline would cripple aid delivery in a country with 8.6 million internally displaced people and the world's largest hunger and displacement crisis. The funding shortfall, amid global aid cuts, shifts the humanitarian bottleneck from access to money, while RSF drone attacks on Damazin demonstrate the conflict's spread to Blue Nile and continued civilian harm.

Watch For

Monitor whether donor pledges arrive before the IOM's end-of-month supply depletion deadline and whether the $42m target is met; watch for further RSF drone attacks in Damazin and Blue Nile, official casualty updates, and any WFP funding announcements. Also track flood and displacement impacts that may accelerate shelter needs.