Sudan’s humanitarian disaster outpaces global response, aid worker warns

The situation in Sudan is far worse than commonly understood, even in areas where active fighting has subsided, according to a senior aid worker who recently returned from a rare visit to the capital, Khartoum.

Zia Salik, who works with the humanitarian organisation Islamic Relief, described scenes of extensive destruction and severe deprivation in Khartoum, saying the scale of devastation is “apocalyptic” more than two years into Sudan’s civil war, Al Jazeera reports.

“The world still doesn’t fully comprehend what has happened here,” Salik wrote in an account published on 12 May. “A city that once had around seven million people now appears almost empty.”

Although large-scale fighting has eased in parts of Khartoum, much of the city’s infrastructure remains in ruins. Buildings across multiple districts have been flattened or heavily damaged by shelling and air strikes, while many of those still standing are riddled with bullet holes.

The war between Sudan’s rival military factions has left what humanitarian agencies describe as one of the world’s worst displacement and hunger crises. Estimates of the death toll vary widely, with more than 58,000 recorded fatalities and some projections suggesting the true number could be significantly higher.

Across the country, the conflict has triggered widespread outbreaks of disease, including cholera, hepatitis, meningitis and yellow fever, compounding already severe food shortages.

Aid groups estimate that around 29 million people — roughly 60% of the population — are facing acute food insecurity, with famine conditions spreading in several regions.

Salik warned that community-led kitchens, which have become a critical lifeline for civilians, are under severe strain. Research by Islamic Relief found that nearly half of surveyed kitchens across Sudan have shut down in recent months due to lack of funding and supplies.

He also pointed to broader geopolitical and logistical pressures that are worsening conditions on the ground, including rising food and fuel prices that are limiting humanitarian access.

In western Sudan, particularly Darfur and Kordofan, civilians continue to face reports of drone strikes, sieges, and attacks on infrastructure including hospitals and schools. Aid convoys have also been hit, according to humanitarian monitors and local reports.

While parts of Khartoum have seen a relative easing of hostilities, more than 1.3 million people have reportedly returned to the capital, only to find destroyed services, widespread poverty and a collapsed job market.

Electricity remains intermittent, schools are largely non-operational, and many hospitals that survived the fighting have been looted or are only partially functioning. Around 200 schools in the capital are either destroyed or being used as shelters for displaced families.

“The economic and social fabric has been shattered,” Salik wrote, noting that returning families often face conditions almost as desperate as those in displacement camps.

The humanitarian worker also described meeting survivors who had lost multiple family members during the conflict and endured long and dangerous journeys to reach safety.

Despite some limited improvements in security, residents remain fearful that renewed fighting could further destabilise the capital. Drone strikes and sporadic clashes have continued in recent weeks.

There are also growing concerns among analysts that Sudan’s prolonged war could eventually lead to a de facto fragmentation of the country, already strained by competing centres of control.

International efforts to broker peace have so far yielded little progress. A recent high-level meeting in Berlin marking the third anniversary of the war produced few concrete steps towards a ceasefire or political settlement.

Humanitarian organisations are calling for increased diplomatic pressure on warring parties, expanded access for aid deliveries, and greater support for local relief networks operating inside the country.

For many Sudanese civilians, Salik said, the priority is straightforward: an end to the war and the chance to rebuild their lives.

“What the people I met want most is to return home, live in dignity, and be free from fear,” he wrote. “It should not be too much to ask.”

By Aghakazim Guliyev