UN Appeals for $1.6bn as Sudan Crisis Displaces Millions

By Zainab Bakare

The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, and 123 partners have launched a $1.6 billion appeal to help millions displaced by the war in Sudan.

The appeal, issued Tuesday, comes as the conflict nears its fourth year, with rising displacement across the region. UNHCR’s 2026 Sudan Regional Refugee Response Plan aims to provide life-saving aid to 5.9 million people in seven neighbouring countries: the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan, and Uganda.

The plan will focus on roughly 470,000 new refugees expected to cross borders this year, as well as thousands stranded in border areas with minimal support.

The war began in April 2023 after a power struggle between Sudan’s national army and the Rapid Support Forces. Fighting continues in parts of the country, leaving basic services collapsed and limiting humanitarian access.

Host countries under strain

Thousands of people are crossing borders each week into countries already under economic and social pressure. About 4.3 million Sudanese refugees are now displaced, with most in Egypt and eastern Chad:

• Egypt hosts around 1.4 million Sudanese. Numbers have nearly quadrupled since 2023. Funding cuts have closed two of three UNHCR registration centres, reducing access to protection services. Aid per refugee has dropped from $11 to $4 monthly.

• Eastern Chad sees over 71,000 refugee families without housing, while 234,000 await relocation in unsafe border conditions.

• Uganda has closed clinics and suspended nutrition programmes in Kiryandongo settlement, increasing health risks.

UNHCR’s Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Mamadou Dian Balde, praised host countries’ “remarkable solidarity” but warned their capacity is “being pushed to the brink.”