The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has added Sudan to its watchlist. The report, published on 16 December, shows the correlation between the worsening state of affairs in Sudan and the IRC’s ‘New World Disorder’, where aid is limited and cooperation is weakened, while the growing needs of the people leave millions exposed and unprotected.
Sudan continues to face humanitarian problems despite receiving aid
Millions of people have been displaced from their homes, left unprotected from the ever-widening threat of famine, and for the communities who do have access to health and social services, most health and social services are unprotected, poorly functional, and offer no hope to resolve the crises in health and social services.
Sudan has suffered from a protracted and delicate state of affairs. The country has suffered from a fragile and incomplete social and economic infrastructure, which is the antithesis of a modern and developed society. In the country’s fragile and incomplete social and economic infrastructure, Sudan has suffered from a complete absence of social and economic services and social and economic activities. The IRC has delineated the worsening condition, in which humanitarian workers have been provided with additional constraints to access victims in Sudan and to offer humanitarian services to the victims.
The budgets for humanitarian work is severely underfunded
Budgets throughout the humanitarian sector are underfunded by nearly 50%, while the demand skyrockets. The countries in the Watchlist are home to 12% of the world’s population but contain 89% of the people in need of humanitarian assistance and are expected to house more than 50% of the world’s extreme poverty by 2029.
Within the Watchlist countries, fragile governance systems, weak economic conditions, and a lack of accountability for the system’s failures produce massive humanitarian crises, as seen in Sudan, the occupied Palestinian territory, and South Sudan.
Sudan requires a lot more aid than most other countries on the list
117 million people are currently on the move globally, according to the IRC, 40 million of whom are suffering from extreme hunger. Sudan carries a sizable portion of the world’s burden, given the ongoing conflict in the country and the large number of families dependent on external aid, which is nearly impossible to deliver.
The Watchlist countries are overstretched and underfunded. Public services are impacted, educational systems are dismantled, and children move without schools. Health systems are collapsing, families are being deprived of their basic healthcare, and Sudan’s communities are in a near complete breakdown, similar to other nations on the Watchlist.
The IRC report reveals the phenomenon of deadlock at the United Nations Security Council and indicates how these deadlock processes humanitarian aid shortcomings in Sudan and other regions of the world. The entity cautions that crises will become more complex and more difficult to resolve in the absence of more productive teamwork.
The IRC is trying to develop a future-proof plan
Milborn declared that
“the world is not just failing to respond to crises. There is a response in action and inaction that is creating, sustaining, and profiting from crises.”
This remark stresses the value of restoring action and inaction to the humanitarian principles.
The IRC contends that, while there are difficulties, responses to crises are within reach. Proposed actions include:
- Bettering diplomacy: tackling economic restraints and promoting just trade.
- Civilians’ protection and access: humanitarian access should be a priority for protection, and accountability frameworks should be implemented.
- Aiding more effectively: 60% of Official Development Assistance should be directed towards more fragile states, with 30% of that aid going to the Watchlist countries.
- Widening the donor base from BRICS and Gulf countries, while supporting local civil society organizations.
The IRC warns that 2026 will be one of the most challenging years for civilians in crisis-affected states, and with the deterioration of states, inaction on the global front, and Sudan being the most affected country on the watchlist, this becomes more than just a reflection of its weakening conditions.
