Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Germany hosted an international conference on April 15 to raise funds to help those affected by the war in Sudan. It also marked the third anniversary of the war between the Sudanese military under Abdel-Fattah Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
Ahead of the start of the conference, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said he was hopeful that more than $1 billion (around €850 million) could be raised. He later announced that €1.3 billion, or $1.53 billion, had been pledged, more than the $1 billion raised at last year’s donor conference in London. Wadephul announced that Germany would make another €212 million available for humanitarian assistance in Sudan.
“Let’s join forces so that humanitarian aid and humanitarian diplomacy can save lives,” he said. Ahead of the conference, German Development Minister Reem Alabali Radovan said that Germany would free up another €20 million, on top of the €155.4 million it earmarked for projects in Sudan at the end of last year.
Wadephul said that despite tight budgetary constraints, Berlin must attempt to fill the funding gap left by massive cuts to US foreign aid carried out by the Trump administration. Additional pledges also came from the UK and Norway on Wednesday. British Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper vowed an additional $198 million, while her Norwegian counterpart Espen Barth Eide vowed €42 million.
Dire situation
At least 59,000 people have been killed, according to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), although the true death toll could be much higher. Around 4,300 children are believed to be among the dead, according to UNICEF. As many as 19 million people are facing acute hunger, according to the World Food Program (WFP). Some 9 million people have been internally displaced, another 4.5 million have fled to neighboring countries.
The conflict followed the 2019 ouster of longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir. The hoped-for transition lost out to the internal conflict between Burhan and Dagalo, his deputy at the time.
