Sudan Parliamentary State Secretary Niels Annen visits Sudan: focus on the humanitarian crisis in Sudan

    Press release 16 January 2025 | The Parliamentary State Secretary in the German Development Ministry (BMZ), Niels Annen, has left for a visit to Sudan which will focus on the issue of displacement. In April 2023, a bloody war erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the militia of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). With more than 12 million forcibly displaced people, the conflict has turned into the biggest humanitarian crisis worldwide. Annen will travel to Port Sudan to gain a first-hand impression of the humanitarian situation and of German support and international efforts to assist people in need. He will also reaffirm Germany’s demand for an immediate ceasefire and unrestricted humanitarian access.

    See also

    German development cooperation with Sudan

    Annen explains, “In Sudan, millions of people are suffering from hunger and are extremely vulnerable to disease. However, the dramatic situation in Sudan seems to go largely unnoticed by the international public. That is why it is so important to highlight the catastrophic situation again and again and, despite the war, explore ways to establish an environment where people can become self-reliant and create prospects for a peaceful future. Because Sudan’s neighbours that are hosting millions of refugees are also affected by the crisis.”

    In Port Sudan, Annen will be meeting with key UN agencies working in Sudan, including UNICEF, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Germany works closely with these agencies in Sudan under its development cooperation. The central objective of German development cooperation with Sudan is to strengthen the resilience of the poorest population groups. This includes meeting basic needs with regard to food, water and housing and also implementing longer-term approaches such as promoting agriculture, which will improve food security and create new jobs that provide livelihoods.

    Since April 2023, there has been heavy fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who are trying to gain control of the country (for more information see www.bmz.de/en/countries/sudan). Both conflict parties are violating human rights and international law. The humanitarian situation is catastrophic. More than 3.4 million people have fled to neighbouring countries. More than 8.7 million people in Sudan have been internally displaced. The existing refugee camps in Sudan are overcrowded and more and more people are dying from infectious diseases such as measles and cholera. According to the UN, more than 26 million people in Sudan are suffering from hunger.