UK boosts funding for Sudan crisis, targeting 1.8m people

The UK government has increased funding to support local responders in Sudan, aiming to deliver aid to more than 1.8 million people amid the worsening humanitarian crisis. The UK will maintain its £146m humanitarian commitment to Sudan this year and double funding to frontline responders, as Foreign Secretary David Lammy travels to Berlin for the International Sudan Conference.

Announced on 15 April, the package includes up to £15m for local aid networks operating in some of the country’s hardest-to-reach areas, with the aim of supporting more than 1.8m people. The funding will bolster grassroots groups such as Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs), which deliver food, water, medicine and psychological support neighbourhood by neighbourhood amid ongoing conflict.

Sudan is now widely described as facing the worst humanitarian crisis of the century. Famine is spreading, millions have been displaced and violence against civilians has intensified. A UN fact-finding mission into El-Fasher has reported abuses bearing “the hallmarks of genocide”, including ethnic targeting, mass killings and widespread sexual violence.

The UK’s latest commitment signals an attempt to prioritise delivery through local actors, seen as more effective in navigating conflict conditions where international access is limited. Since the war began, UK-funded programmes have reached more than 2.5m people, including children at risk of starvation and survivors of gender-based violence.

Alongside humanitarian support, funding for Sudanese human rights defenders has also been increased, aimed at strengthening documentation of alleged atrocities and supporting future accountability efforts.

Speaking ahead of the conference, Lammy is expected to call for increased international pressure on Sudan’s warring factions to allow aid access and halt attacks on civilians and humanitarian workers. The conference marks three years since the outbreak of war, with diplomatic efforts increasingly focused on securing a pathway towards a civilian-led political settlement.

Despite renewed pledges, aid agencies warn that access constraints, insecurity and funding gaps continue to limit the scale of response. For now, the emphasis remains on sustaining frontline delivery in a conflict where needs continue to outpace resources.

The Foreign Secretary said: “After 3 years of brutal war, the world can no longer claim it does not know what is happening in Sudan. Today, in Berlin, I will call for the international community to join in a shared resolve: to secure a ceasefire and a diplomatic solution – to stop the suffering and allow the people of Sudan to determine their own peaceful future. Sudan’s civilians are already doing their part. Their courage is inspiring. That is why we are protecting the UK’s humanitarian support to Sudan and doubling our funding to these local responders, helping them to reach nearly 2 million people. The world must now stand with them and renew our determination to bring this war to an end.”