For three years Sudan has been engulfed in what aid agencies call the world’s worst humanitarian disaster, yet it has drawn little sustained international attention. Fighting between rival military factions—the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF)—has cost an estimated 150,000 lives. About 12 million people have been displaced, nearly a quarter of the population, and more than 33 million inside Sudan—roughly two thirds—now rely on humanitarian assistance.
A donor conference in Berlin brought representatives from the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and the African Union to the German Foreign Office to raise funds and try to prevent the crisis from slipping further off the global agenda. The African Union chair, Djibouti diplomat Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, met briefly with Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of the talks. Merz warned that more than 20 million people face starvation, described Germany as a major humanitarian donor and said Berlin backs ceasefire efforts being pursued by the United States, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt.
But prospects for an immediate ceasefire remain dim. Neither the SAF nor the RSF attended the Berlin meeting, and previous international efforts—including conferences in London and Paris—failed to secure lasting ceasefires. Given that reality, Berlin focused largely on mobilizing cash to keep relief operations running rather than negotiating a settlement.
Donor assistance has slipped even as needs grow. Global funding for Sudan fell from $2.07 billion in 2024 to $1.77 billion in 2025, a shortfall experts say met only about 40% of assessed needs. Observers cite a combination of shifting donor priorities toward other crises and policy changes by some governments as factors behind the decline. At last year’s London meeting donors pledged roughly €1 billion; German officials said a comparable commitment could be expected in Berlin.
Germany’s development minister, Reem Alabali Radovan, announced an extra €20 million in aid with a focus on programs that support women, who increasingly shoulder household and caregiving responsibilities amid the conflict. Total German assistance to Sudan now stands at €232 million. The British government pledged funding equivalent to about €168 million for 2026, and other contributors signaled additional commitments at the conference.
Speakers warned the situation inside Sudan remains perilous and that the conflict could spill across borders into neighboring countries, notably Chad. British foreign secretary Yvette Cooper pointed to the repeated use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said large-scale arms deliveries are fueling the fighting and pointed to the arrival of modern weaponry, including drones; his office has documented some 700 civilian deaths from drone strikes since the start of the year.
Low public awareness of the Sudan emergency is another challenge. Unlike previous crises that produced large refugee flows toward Europe, comparatively few Sudanese have arrived in Europe—about 14,000 recorded in 2025—contributing to limited media and public attention despite repeated international appeals.
Organizers of the Berlin meeting stressed that funding pledges alone cannot stop the violence, but they argued sustained financial support is essential to prevent even greater loss of life and to keep humanitarian operations functioning while diplomatic efforts continue. The conference aimed to keep Sudan visible on the international agenda and to shore up the aid pipeline even as negotiations for a ceasefire and political resolution remain stalled.