How Sudan became the world’s worst and most neglected humanitarian disaster

DUBAI: Sudan is now ground zero for the world’s largest — and most overlooked — humanitarian catastrophe.

Since fighting broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, more than 12 million people have been forcibly displaced, including 4 million forced to flee across borders, according to Refugees International.

The vast majority are women and children, many of whom have been displaced multiple times, arriving at informal settlements with nothing but the clothes on their backs — and receiving little to no aid or protection.

“This is the largest displacement and humanitarian crisis in the world,” Daniel P. Sullivan, director for Africa, Asia, and the Middle East at Refugees International, told Arab News.

“More than half the population is facing severe food insecurity, with several areas already experiencing famine.”