Over the past three years the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophe has unfolded in Sudan with little global attention. Rival factions of the country’s military have been locked in fierce fighting; around 150,000 people have been lost in the conflict. Some 12 million Sudanese have been forced to flee—nearly a quarter of the population—and more than 33 million people inside Sudan, about two-thirds of the population, depend on aid.
A conference in Berlin this Wednesday focused on that humanitarian crisis. Representatives from the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and the African Union met at the Federal Foreign Office to mobilize additional funds for the Sudanese people and to ensure the conflict is not obscured by other global crises.
Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, the Djibouti diplomat who chairs the African Union, held a brief meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday to discuss the situation. Merz warned that over 20 million people face starvation—nearly half the country—and stressed Germany’s role as a major humanitarian donor. He said Germany supports efforts by the US, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt to secure a ceasefire.
Yet a ceasefire appears unlikely: the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) remain at odds, and neither side was represented in Berlin. Previous international gatherings—last year’s London conference and a 2024 Paris meeting—failed to produce ceasefires or lasting results, so the Berlin meeting concentrated on financial pledges to keep aid flowing.
Ali Youssouf said raising global awareness is crucial, especially as crises in places such as Iran and Ukraine capture attention. Global donor funding for Sudan fell from $2.07 billion in 2024 to $1.77 billion in 2025, an amount experts estimate covered only about 40% of needs. Observers attribute the decline in part to aid cuts under US President Donald Trump and to donor focus shifting to other conflicts.
At last year’s London conference donors pledged roughly €1 billion; German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said a comparable sum could be expected in Berlin. Germany’s Development Minister Reem Alabali Radovan pledged an additional €20 million in aid, with a focus on supporting women who are often left to care for families amid the conflict. Total German funding for Sudan now stands at €232 million.
The British government announced funding equivalent to about €168 million for 2026, and other donors signaled further commitments. Still, experts warn the conflict could spill into neighboring countries such as Chad, and conditions inside Sudan remain dire. British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper highlighted repeated use of rape as a weapon of war.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk told DW that large-scale arms shipments are fueling the violence. “Not a single weapon is being produced in Sudan,” he said, noting the arrival of modern weaponry, including drones. Türk’s office has documented 700 civilian deaths from drone attacks since the start of the year.
Low public awareness about Sudan’s war is also linked to comparatively few refugees reaching Europe. Thorsten Klose-Zuber, head of the German NGO Help–Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe, told the Catholic News Agency that only about 14,000 Sudanese refugees were recorded in Europe in 2025—far fewer than arrivals from countries such as Syria—contributing to limited media and public attention despite repeated appeals at conferences like Berlin’s.
This article was originally written in German.