Poverty rates in Sudan have doubled significantly since the beginning of the war three years ago, with nearly 70% of the population living below the poverty line, according to Luca Rienda, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program in Sudan.
As the war approaches its fourth year, Sudan faces one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world. The conflict has led to the deaths of tens of thousands and the displacement of more than 11 million people, in addition to widespread destruction of infrastructure, a severe lack of information, and difficulty moving within the country.
Although fighting continues in Kordofan and Blue Nile states, Khartoum has witnessed relative calm since the army regained control last year, and some semblance of life has returned to markets and residential areas that were deserted. According to the United Nations, about 1.2 million displaced people have returned to the capital.
Rinda explained that poverty rates before the war were about 38%, but today they have risen to about 70%, while a quarter of Sudanese live in extreme poverty with less than two dollars a day. This percentage reaches about 75% in the main conflict areas, especially in Darfur and Kordofan.
In light of the escalation of fighting in Kordofan and Blue Nile, especially through drone attacks, Tom Fletcher, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations for Humanitarian Affairs, confirmed that about 700 civilians were killed in drone bombing during the first three months of this year.
He added that millions of Sudanese have been displaced inside and outside the country, while entire communities have been emptied of their residents and families uprooted again and again, with the increasing risk of instability spreading to the region surrounding Sudan.
A report by the United Nations Development Program showed that average income in Sudan has declined to a level not recorded since 1992, while extreme poverty rates have exceeded the levels that prevailed in the 1980s.
Renda pointed out in the report that “what is happening is no longer just a crisis, but a systematic erosion of the future of an entire country,” explaining that these numbers mean “practically families torn apart, children deprived of education, lost livelihoods, and a generation whose opportunities are diminishing day by day.”
According to the report, the war could return Sudan’s economy to 1960s levels, with extreme poverty potentially rising to more than 60%, including an additional 34 million people, if the conflict continues until 2030.
Sudan also lost an estimated $6.4 billion of its gross domestic product in 2023 alone, while extreme poverty affected about 7 million people in the same year.
In parallel, the International Committee of the Red Cross announced that the number of missing people as a result of the war exceeded 11,000 people, an increase of 40% over last year, due to the disruption of communication networks and the loss of many families’ traces of their relatives, which causes deep and continuing psychological suffering.
Since the beginning of the war, about 5.6 million children have been born in Sudan, according to Save the Children, which indicated that many of them were born to displaced mothers in overcrowded shelters or facilities lacking electricity, basic equipment, and medical personnel, which contributed to a rise in maternal mortality by more than 11%.
Muhammad Abdel Latif, the organization’s director in Sudan, said that more than 17 million children were deprived of school for nearly two years, and 8 million children have not yet returned to school.
In a country where hunger is widespread, more than 40% of hospices have closed their doors due to lack of resources, according to a report by the Islamic Relief Foundation, which also indicated that the cost of meals has doubled.
21 million people in Sudan face severe food insecurity, while famine has been declared in at least two cities, while humanitarian agencies have received only 16% of the funding required to provide aid to 20 million in need.
A donor conference will be held in Berlin, on Wednesday, with the aim of pushing towards meeting urgent humanitarian needs and achieving progress in ending the war, after similar conferences in London and Paris failed, and international mediation efforts failed to achieve an actual breakthrough. (Sky News)
