Sudan’s War Does Not Stop at Sudan’s Borders

A new report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Sudan and South Sudan, following its visit to eastern Chad, provides a stark picture of the consequences of Sudan’s war beyond its borders.

More than 12 million people have been displaced. Chad is now hosting more than 1.5 million refugees, while humanitarian organisations are struggling with severe funding shortages.

But the report makes a more important point.

Humanitarian assistance cannot substitute for political action.

Three years into this war, people need more than food, shelter and emergency healthcare. They need education, livelihoods, infrastructure and a future. Around 40,000 people have already moved northwards in search of opportunities.

The UK and the international community must continue humanitarian assistance — but they must also intensify efforts to end the war.

One cannot replace the other.

Sudan does not need the world to become better at managing the consequences of war. It needs the world to do more to change the conditions that are allowing the war to continue.

That is where the focus must remain.