Humanitarian groups in Sudan have enough money to help only about one in 10 people who need emergency shelter, two United Nations agencies said Friday. They warned that millions uprooted by the civil war could be left without a roof as aid supplies run out.
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and the International Organization for Migration said in a joint statement that 15.4 million Sudanese require shelter along with essential household goods. So far, aid has reached just 936,000 of them.
Mohamed Refaat, who leads the IOM's work in Sudan, said from Khartoum that the agency was struggling to keep operating. It distributed more than 40,000 tonnes this year, he said, but its warehouses are now empty.
Refaat cautioned that internal displacement could climb again even though many people have gone home. Agencies have already pared back their plans because of the cash shortfall, he said.
The war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces began in 2023. About 8.6 million people have been forced from their homes inside the country, the largest displacement crisis anywhere, and more than 4.6 million others have crossed into other countries.
More than 5.2 million people have returned to their home areas, the UN says, often to find houses, infrastructure and basic services in ruins. The agencies said shelter aid is frequently the first step for returnees trying to rebuild, and that it gives a degree of safety and dignity to women, children and others facing heightened risk.
The two agencies said they would keep working with local organizations to sustain shared supply lines and stockpile goods in priority areas, but that the effort depends on steady, flexible funding. They appealed for urgent money to restock emergency supplies before conditions deteriorate further.
