Two years after the beginning of a civil war in Sudan on April 15, 2023, the "world's most damaging displacement crisis is now happening amid the worst humanitarian funding situation in decades", UNHCR said in an April 11 press release.

The number of Sudanese nationals in Europe remains low. However, in the first two months of 2025 arrivals increased by 38 percent on the previous year, the UN Refugee Agency said, adding that it fears further increases.

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Over 13 million IDPs, half of whom children

"Nearly 13 million people have fled their homes to date, with almost four million crossing into the neighboring countries of Egypt, South Sudan, Chad, Libya, Ethiopia, the Central African Republic, and further afield into Uganda. Displacement continued to grow in the second year of the conflict, with over one million people fleeing Sudan," the press release stated.

"New arrivals report experiencing systemic sexual violence and other human rights violations, as well as witnessing mass killings. Half are children, including thousands without any family. Sudan is now the country with the largest number of its people displaced as refugees in Africa," it added.

"The lack of peace, sufficient aid and opportunities in asylum countries are driving more people to seek safety far beyond Sudan's borders. Over 70,000 Sudanese refugees have arrived in Uganda. Others continue to attempt dangerous crossings to Europe," UNHCR said.

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Funding cut as needs rise

"As the conflict and displacement have intensified, funding has lagged. Funding for the regional response is less than 10 percent of what is needed, making it impossible to cover basic needs," the UN body stressed.

"The latest global cuts in humanitarian funding put critical programs at risk, with teams forced to make unreasonable choices and refugees being left to resort to harmful strategies to meet their basic needs. The reductions come when the needs have never been greater," it added.

"Inside Sudan, reduced funding will cut access to clean water for at least half a million displaced people, significantly increasing the risk of cholera and other waterborne diseases. It is also hindering the ability to move new arrivals to safer areas away from overcrowded transit centers at the border in places like South Sudan and Chad, where over 280,000 refugees remain stranded in makeshift sites without adequate shelter, clean water, health care, or protection," it said.

"In Uganda, the increase of new arrivals from Sudan, along with those from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has put immense pressure on education. Reduced funding means refugee and host community students face extreme overcrowding in schools. The negative impact on the quality of teaching is discouraging enrolment. For many young girls, that will increase the risk of early marriage. For boys, it means pressure to work or attempt unsafe onward movements," the press release continued.

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'Hope is ebbing'

"Across all refugee host countries, safe spaces are being closed and social workers discontinued, leaving tens of thousands of women and girls without counselling, health care, and vital support," the UN agency noted.

"Despite the constraints, neighboring countries are keeping their borders open, with communities sharing the limited resources they have. UNHCR and partners are keeping interventions ongoing, doing their best to provide protection and assistance and accompany refugees through the current uncertainty. Alongside aid, more development funding is needed to prevent host communities from buckling under the overwhelming number of new arrivals, and so those going home can rebuild," UNHCR detailed in the press release.

"But with conflict lines shifting," it concluded, "people constantly on the move and resources running dry, hope is ebbing. A political solution for peace in Sudan is needed now more than ever."