IRC CEO and President, David Miliband, addressed the European Parliament:

The International Rescue Committee works in the hardest places in the world. Our mission is to help people survive, recover, and regain control of their future. Sudan has ranked as the number one country on our Emergency Watchlist for three consecutive years. 

Today, our 500 staff, 90 percent of them Sudanese, operate across 10 of Sudan’s 18 states. They provide primary healthcare, nutrition, water and sanitation, protection and life-saving emergency response. In 2025, we reached 1.7 million people. As much good as we’ve done, our colleagues have not been spared. I found out yesterday that every member of our team in Western Sudan has lost at least one family member. Many have lost far more. 

Sudan is suffering a humanitarian crisis of historic proportions. It is also suffering a crisis of neglect. The combination is deadly.

Thirty three million people are in humanitarian need. Twenty million face crisis levels of food insecurity. Even after 3.5 million people returned home, 11.5 million remain displaced, including 4.5 million refugees outside Sudan and 7 million displaced inside the country. 

The stories behind these numbers are devastating. Earlier this month, Al Jabalayn Teaching Hospital was attacked. Ten healthcare workers were killed. The World Health Organization has documented more than 200 attacks on healthcare across the country. Children have not been spared. In the first 90 days of this year alone, 160 children were killed, and 4.2 million are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition. 

Sudan is the modern face of civil war. It contains active conflict in some parts and stalled recovery in others. It is shaped by multiple, fractured internal actors. It is sustained by external support to the parties. It is exporting refugees while hosting millions of internally displaced people. It receives inadequate international support. And it lacks a viable diplomatic pathway to peace. The heroes in this story are civilians and frontline workers, yet they are subjected to relentless violence.

To understand the crisis on the ground, it is vital to look at three regions.

First, Khartoum and eastern Sudan. Khartoum once held 8 million people. Of recent, around 1.8 million have returned, but the return is fragile. Infrastructure is devastated. Basic services are scarce. Funding is declining. An ECHO funded health facility visited just yesterday by our COO is at risk of closing within weeks if new support does not come online. At a time of reductions in support of critical, life saving work, ECHO has been a more important partner than ever across the fragile and conflict context in which we work. 

Second, Darfur. Before the war, the five Darfuri states held between 10 and 12 million people. Today, they face overlapping and intensifying conflicts. There are two active frontlines along the Tina border crossing with Chad and as intra-Arab tensions rise in the Kebkabiya region.

Meanwhile, humanitarian needs continue to grow. In Tawila, aid is being scaled up for more than 600,000 people there. IRC operates seven primary health care, water and sanitation, protection services and is opening  a Basic Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care Center in May. But the risks remain acute. Colleagues report a high likelihood of a cholera outbreak, with limited capacity to respond. The area has also drawn other displaced people from El Fasher. Aid concentrated in one location is raising the risk of active conflict between armed actors. 

Third, the Kordofans. Fighting continues in both North and South Kordofan. In El Obeid, a city of around 500,000 people, civilians are surrounded by armed groups. In Kadugli and Dilling, similar patterns are unfolding. Those who have fled now live in remote mountainous areas with where our teams struggle to provide aid.

The conflict here is shaped not only by military dynamics but also by economic interests. Gold and oil in West Kordofan influence the incentives of armed actors. Under a fragile arrangement, oil continues to be exported from Heglig even as violence persists.

Across the country, new threats are emerging. Drone attacks are frequent and deadly. More than 500 people were killed in such attacks in the first 75 days of this year. Far less egregious, but possibly as fatal is the upcoming rainy season. It will restrict movement, limit humanitarian access, and deepen food insecurity during the lean season. 

The reality is deadly. The response must be equally clear.

First, spend money well. The risk of public health crises, including cholera and measles, are ongoing and immediate. 

Sudan is a stark example of how important this body’s vote on the multiannual financial framework (MFF) was this week. Specifically for the amount earmarked for humanitarian aid that will surely save lives. No better way to demonstrate its import than to focus the funds on proven, cost effective interventions that deliver the greatest impact.

Second, follow the money because there is profit in the war and it is fueling the conflict. 

Third, demand protection for civilians and for frontline workers. Without safety, there can be no sustainable return.

Fourth, there is outstanding UN leadership in the country, and it needs stronger support.

Fifth, encourage the World Bank to take a leading role in recovery. Even where life saving aid is less urgent, rebuilding systems is essential if Sudan is to recover.

Finally, rethink the path to peace. The recent conference in Berlin mobilised significant funding. But current diplomatic efforts are not producing peace. That gap must be addressed.

In Sudan, the politics of delay are the politics of disaster.

At a time when crises across the Middle East demand attention, the stability of the Red Sea and North Africa is more important than ever.

The European Parliament is strong; we need the countries from which its members come to meet its strength. 

Sudan is not only a humanitarian emergency. It is a warning. The people of Sudan need a step change in the behavior of those making their lives worse. And so I welcome your interest and leadership.