World donors pledge $2.1 billion in aid for war-stricken Sudan to ward off famine
PARIS, France (AP) — World donors reportedly pledged more than $2.1 billion in humanitarian aid for Sudan.
According to a report from The Associated Press, French President Emmanuel Macron said a yearlong war has pushed the country’s population to the brink of famine.
Macron was reportedly speaking at the end of an international conference in Paris aimed at garnering support for Sudan’s 51 million people. AP News said the aid will go towards food, water, medicines and other urgent needs.
“Much of the world has been focused on the crisis that was generated in the Middle East. As concerning as those developments are, other dramatic life-and-death emergencies are being pushed into the shadows,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres told reporters after the Security Council met in Sudan on Monday.
“The world is forgetting about the people of Sudan,” he said.
The United Nations’ humanitarian campaign reportedly needs some $2.7 billion this year to get food, health care and other supplies to 24 million people in Sudan. AP News reports that so far, funders have given only $145 million.
More than 14,000 people have been killed and at least 33,000 have been wounded in the war in Sudan. Nearly 9 million people have reportedly been forced to flee their homes.