UN warns key humanitarian network in Sudan could ‘collapse within weeks’

The war between Sudan's regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has created the world's largest hunger and displacement crisis.(AFP) — The United Nations warned Monday that a key system for bringing aid into conflict-torn Sudan risked collapsing completely unless it receives more funding immediately.“The entire humanitarian system could collapse within weeks if we don’t act now,” said Amy Pope, head of the International Organization for Migration.“Without new funding, we won’t be able to get help where it’s needed most.”The war between Sudan’s regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that erupted in April 2023 has killed more than 200,000 people, aid workers estimate, and created the world’s largest hunger and displacement crisis.The IOM stressed that the Common Humanitarian Pipeline logistics system it runs allows a network of more than 100 national and international NGOs to bring desperately needed shelter and other nonfood aid into the African country.Since the start of the war, it said, the system has reached 2.84 million people.But it warned that the reach has been shrinking due to falling funds, even as needs remain at an all-time high.While the pipeline helped get aid to more than 1 million people in 2024, only 330,000 had received assistance such as shelter and emergency support kits through the system so far in 2026, the IOM said.“Without immediate donor support, current shelter, sanitation and emergency household relief items are expected to be depleted by the end of September,” the U.N. migration agency said in a statement.“The warehousing and operational capacity that keeps the pipeline functioning can only be sustained until December 2026,” it stressed.The IOM said it would need $15 million just to maintain the pipeline at its 2026 minimum capacity for the next 12 months, while it would require $42 million to return to its 2024 level.It said cutting off access to shelter assistance carried far wider risks.“Prolonged exposure to weather, disease and insecurity can heighten risks of gender-based violence, family separation and eviction in overcrowded sites,” it pointed out.“Shelter is the foundation from which protection, health and recovery can begin,” Pope insisted.“When the pipeline stops, it is not simply warehouses that become empty. The entire humanitarian response becomes harder to deliver.”Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads