UN Relief Chief: 'World Has Failed Sudan' as Civil War Enters Fourth Year; 34 Million Need Aid

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher marked the third anniversary of Sudan's civil war on April 22, 2026, with a stark statement that 'another year has passed when the world has failed to meet the test of Sudan.' Nearly 34 million people — 65% of Sudan's population — are in urgent need of humanitarian support, yet only approximately 16% of the $3 billion 2026 UN appeal has been funded. Sudan has become the world's largest displacement crisis (14 million displaced: 9 million IDPs and 4.4 million refugees in Chad, Egypt, South Sudan, and Ethiopia), the world's largest hunger crisis (28.9 million acutely food insecure), and famine has been confirmed in El Fasher (North Darfur) and Kadugli (South Kordofan) with 20 additional areas at critical famine risk. Fletcher warned that aid cuts — including from USAID and European donors — are further threatening what little humanitarian response exists. Despite international conferences including the Berlin Conference (April 15, 2026) pledging €1.3 billion, the gap between pledges and disbursements remains critical. As the war enters its fourth year, neither SAF nor RSF has shown willingness to engage in meaningful ceasefire negotiations, and the UN described the crisis as increasingly 'abandoned' by the international community.