Foreign Policy: In Sudan, put humanitarian aid before talks

Foreign Policy magazine published an article about Sudan calling on foreign powers to focus on providing humanitarian aid to the country before focusing on negotiations, saying that setting priorities in the current way further exacerbates the humanitarian crisis in the country.

The article written by Soha Moussa, a researcher in Sudan and the Greater Middle East based in New York, documented the great and tragic damage that resulted from the war, which has expanded greatly in different regions of the country since its outbreak on April 15 last.

It reported that the war led to the death of more than 12,000 people, the displacement of 7.3 million people, the collapse of political, social and medical services, and put more than 24 million of the country’s 46 million population in need of assistance.

The author pointed out that acts of violence and displacement have increased with the failure of humanitarian aid programs, and that negotiation initiatives between the two warring sides have received priority and focus instead of focusing on providing humanitarian aid and alleviating the suffering of citizens.

She explained that the priorities of the international community lag behind what the humanitarian situation has reached in Sudan, calling on international organizations and external forces seeking peace in Sudan to seek to restore civilian life, instead of negotiations, which she described as impractical and often failed.

She said that, for example, the continuing failure of the health system in Sudan, which is only one of many failures in the country, amid ongoing violence, has led to the spread of cholera, measles, dengue fever and food insecurity at a higher rate, and it has become increasingly clear that if guns and bombs do not kill Sudanese citizens, the failure of the health system and the lack of medical supplies will do this.