The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | OCHA , OHCHR , UNHCR , WHO
Sudan escalating violence WHO - UNHCR - OCHA - OHCHR 17 May 2024
Sudan: Millions of civilians abandoned in spiral of horrific violence, humanitarian void
Brutal violence, famine, disease and widespread displacement are haunting nine million Sudanese people, including four million children, UN humanitarians warn.
"Famine is closing in, diseases are closing in, the fighting is closing in on civilians, especially in Darfur,” Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for UN humanitarian affairs coordination office OCHA, told journalists in Geneva.
Half of Sudan's population - some 25 million people - are estimated to be in desperate need of humanitarian aid, according to OCHA's estimates.
The UN’s humanitarian response plan for Sudan aims to support 15 million of the worst-affected people in 2024. But Mr. Laerke said the $2.7 billion appeal is “catastrophically underfunded,” at only 12 per cent.
Tensions between the country’s military and paramilitary forces erupted into conflict in April 2023. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) control most of Darfur and are besieging North Darfur’s capital El Fasher. Almost 16,000 people have died over the course of the war and 33,000 have been injured, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO). “But the toll of the war is probably much higher,” said Dr. Shible Sahbani, WHO representative in Sudan. Speaking from Port Sudan, he highlighted the fact that in 13 months of war in Sudan, nine million people or some 17 per cent of the country’s population have been displaced, which represents “the largest internal displacement crisis in the world today”.
Famine is looming, with more than one third of the population facing acute hunger. A rise in attacks on health personnel and aid workers is further restricting access to life-saving care and medicines, resulting in outbreaks of cholera, measles and malaria that have been registered in two thirds of the 18 Sudanese states.
Earlier this week, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, held separate phone calls with Lt-General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces, and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads the rival Rapid Support Forces.
Last Tuesday, Mr. Türk urged them both to act immediately and publicly to de-escalate the situation, said UN human rights office (OHCHR) spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani. The UN rights chief had previously approached the rival generals in November 2022.
Asked about the outcome of the calls, Ms. Shamdasani said that “each of them acknowledged the importance of respecting international humanitarian law” and that General Al-Burhan also indicated that he would “facilitate visas” for OHCHR staff.
She added that OHCHR currently only has one international staff member in Port Sudan and is hoping to get visas for more staff to be able to go in, “including the High Commissioner's designated expert on Sudan”.
Meanwhile, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) sounded the alarm over increasing numbers of Sudanese arrivals in Uganda – over 33,000 people, 19,000 of whom have arrived in Kampala since the start of 2024. Matthew Crentsil, the UNHCR country representative in Uganda, called the situation a “silent emergency”.
Including the Sudanese, on average 2,500 people arrive in Uganda every week, mainly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan, fleeing ongoing conflicts and climate-change impacts. UNHCR warned of the pressure that this influx, combined with funding shortfalls, puts on assistance to refugees and host communities.
The country is already host to almost 1.7 million refugees and asylum-seekers, while the 2024 Uganda Country Refugee Response Plan is only 13 per cent funded, UNHCR said.
-Ends-
· Soundbites are from
o Jens Laerke, OCHA spokesperson;
o Dr Shible Sahbani, WHO Representative in Sudan (speaking from Port Sudan);
o Matthew Crentsil, UNHCR Representative in Uganda
o Ravina Shamdasani, OHCHR spokesperson.
TRT: 02’22”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 17 May 2024 - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Geneva Press briefing
SHOTLIST
1. Exterior medium shot: UN flag alley
2. Wide shot: speakers at the podium of the press conference
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Jens Laerke, OCHA spokesperson “In Sudan, half of the population, 25 million people need humanitarian aid. Famine is closing in, diseases are closing in, the fighting is closing in on civilians, especially in Darfur. The overall response plan aims to reach and support 15 million of the worst affected people. Collectively, we ask for 2.7 billion American dollars. As of today, four and a half months into the year, we have received 12 per cent of that. This is not just an underfunded appeal. It is a catastrophically underfunded appeal.”
4. Cutaway: wide shot of the press conference room with journalists
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Shible Sahbani, WHO Representative in Sudan (speaking from Port Sudan): “13 months of war in Sudan, 9 million people displaced, which represents around 17 per cent of the population and the largest internal displacement crisis in the world today.”
6. Cutaway: wide shot of the press conference room with journalists and the podium with speakers
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Shible Sahbani, WHO Representative in Sudan (speaking from Port Sudan): “Close to 16,000 people have died and 33,000 have been injured. But the toll of the war is probably much higher.”
6. Cutaway: Wide lateral shot, speakers at podium from behind and journalists in the press room
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Matthew Crentsil, UNHCR Representative in Uganda: “There is what I can term a silent emergency happening in Uganda, where the 300,000 have come over the past two and half years, most of whom have come from, South Sudan and, DRC we have had recent arrivals from Sudan as well. This year alone, about 19,000 refugees have come from Sudan.”
8. Cutaway: wide shot of the press conference room with journalists
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Ravina Shamdasani, OHCHR spokesperson: “In response, each of them acknowledged the importance of, of respecting international humanitarian law. General Al-Burhan also, indicated that, he would facilitate visas for our staff. We currently only have one, international staff member, in Port Sudan. And, we are hoping to get visas for more staff to be able to go in. And for the high Commissioner's designated expert on Sudan to be able to go in as well.”
10. Various shots of the press room.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , OHCHR , UNFPA , UNOG , UNHCR , WHO
Yemen’s humanitarian crisis growing by the hour amid spike in displacement
Yemenis displaced by renewed fighting have described fleeing for their lives amid shelling and gunfire, aid agencies reported on Friday, while highlighting the dramatic increase in humanitarian needs in the country and in Djibouti, where thousands have sought shelter.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office issued on Friday a report documenting a shocking pattern of sexual violence amid Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine.
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | WMO
As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
ends
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WHO
The deadly Ebola virus outbreak in DR Congo continues to spread across the vast country despite some success in containing it, aid officials said on Tuesday, in a renewed call for international support to help responders on the ground.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WFP
‘Super El Niño’ and converging crises worsen hunger in South Sudan and across the region - WFP
South Sudan’s hunger crisis is becoming increasingly catastrophic as violence, extreme weather and dwindling aid leave millions without enough food, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
In war-torn Gaza, a growing number of women-headed households face “impossible decisions” every day, amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes and still-scarce resources, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk made the following remarks to the Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar at the 63rd Human Rights Council.
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk today delivered an update on the global human rights situation to the 63rdsession of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Repeated attacks on humanitarian warehouses put vital medical aid at risk in Ukraine - WHO
A new airstrike overnight damaged one of the main warehouses used by the UN health agency to store humanitarian medical supplies in the Kyiv region, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. This is the third attack to affect a WHO-used storage in the last three months.
2
2
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
Powerful El Niño heightens extreme-weather risks through 2027, as countries brace for impact - WMO
Fuelled by extraordinarily warm waters across the tropical Pacific Ocean, the El Niño climate pattern is expected to intensify in the coming months. Forecasters are almost certain that it will persist through February next year, with unusually warm conditions expected across the globe.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , IFRC , UN WOMEN , WHO
Nepal flood deaths near 1,000 as those spared struggle to survive – UN humanitarians
With the death toll in Nepal’s catastrophic flash floods inching towards 1,000, rescue workers are facing harsh conditions while survivors lack access to food, safe water and health care, humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNDRR , IFRC , WHO
Nepal: Flooding disaster “not over” as humanitarians work around the clock
While search and rescue efforts continued Friday following flash floods and mudslides in northern Nepal, UN humanitarians are taking stock of the devastation amid concerns over more flooding to come.