UN Geneva - Multimedia Newsroom : One year of war in Sudan and impact on South Sudan - UNHCR

War in Sudan: in massive exodus, 1’800 people a day seek refuge in world’s poorest country - UNHCR

As the conflict in Sudan nears its one-year mark, over 25 million people face a humanitarian crisis with no end in sight. The country and its neighbours are experiencing one of the largest and most challenging humanitarian and displacement crisis in the world, says the UN’s Refugee agency.

“The number of Sudanese forced to flee has now surpassed 8.5 million people, with 1.8 million of them crossing borders,” said Olga Sarrado, UNHCR spokesperson, speaking to journalists in Geneva. Thousands of Sudanese are still crossing borders daily since 15 April 2023, in a human exodus on a scale that is extremely rare except in the initial stages of conflict.

South Sudan is receiving the greatest influx of people from neighbouring Sudan, according to UNHCR.

“Six hundred and thirty-five thousand people have arrived in South Sudan since 15th of April last year,” said Marie-Hélène Verney UNHCR’s representative in South Sudan, explaining that this represents more than 5 per cent of the population of South Sudan.

In comparative terms, this would be the equivalent of 4.5 million refugees arriving in Germany, or 17.6 million people fleeing to the United States, in less than one year.

“This is the world's poorest country,” Ms. Verney said, speaking from South Sudan's capital, Juba. “You can imagine the pressure that has been put on this country since 15th of April. Daily average of arrivals since last 15th of April, a year ago is 1,800 people a day. A day. Every single day,” she emphasized.

Those crossing borders, mostly women and children, are arriving in remote areas in desperate need of food, water, shelter and medical care. Many families have been separated and arrive in distress.

Fears are growing that the economy will collapse and insecurity could worsen in South Sudan after one of its key oil pipelines, which passes through Sudan, was damaged and forced to close. The incident occurred in February in Sudan’s White Nile state, an area controlled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which is fighting the Sudanese army for power in the country. Oil accounts for some 95 percent of South Sudan's declared revenues.

“Since last month, that oil pipeline has been closed because Sudan is no longer able to maintain it due to the conflict. This has had a massive impact on the economy of South Sudan, the entire country, with incredibly rapid inflation of the South Sudanese pound and just generally speaking, a lack of revenue getting into the country,” explained Marie-Hélène Verney.

South Sudan was part of Sudan until 2011, and the two countries’ economies are very much interlinked.

As the refugee crisis worsens, the international community is facing mounting pressure to take urgent action. UNHCR has already observed increased movements of Sudanese refugees to Europe, with 6,000 arriving in Italy from Tunisia and Libya since the beginning of 2023 – an almost sixfold increase from the previous year.

“Despite the magnitude of the crisis, we continue to see that funding remains critically low,” said Olga Sarrado. Only seven per cent of the requirements outlined in the 2024 Regional Refugee Response Plan for Sudan have been fulfilled. Similarly, the Humanitarian Response Plan for inside Sudan is just six per cent funded.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, coordinates the Regional Refugee Response Plan, which requests $1.4 billion and targets nearly 2.7 million people in five countries neighboring Sudan. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) takes care of the response inside Sudan: this year’s Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan calls for $2.7 billion to reach 14.7 million people.

Both plans aim to support some 17.4 million people in Sudan and the region.

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