By Coletta Wanjohi
Sudan seems to be losing out in the visibility stakes as world shifts its gaze to the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Nearly six million people in Sudan have been displaced since fighting broke out on April 15 between the Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
Over 310,000 people have entered neighbouring South Sudan, including a section of South Sudanese who fled to Sudan in 2013 after a civil conflict ravaged their region. Neighbouring Ethiopia is hosting over 83,700 people.
Humanitarian agencies say up to 9,000 people have been killed, and 25 million need aid. Despair infests their lives.
"There are over 420,000 new refugees in Chad, 300,000 in Egypt, and about 19,000 in the Central African Republic," the United Nations says in its latest update on the ravages of the continued fighting in the North African country.
Six months after all this started, experts acknowledge the fighting in Sudan as "the fastest unfolding crisis globally, with unprecedented needs in a short period".
Shifting sands
Ironically, as Sudan plunges deeper into the abyss, so has the world's capacity to absorb, understand and resolve.
The continuing Russia-Ukraine war since February 2022 has diverted the attention and resources of the international community from Sudan.
Much global attention is now on the spiralling crisis involving Israel and Palestine in the Middle East with Israel carrying out attacks on Gaza following Hamas's attack on October 7. As the violence and the humanitarian situation in Gaza worsen, there are concerns in some quarters that Sudan could lose out on the humanitarian aid it desperately needs from donors.
"The international community cannot desert the people of Sudan at this juncture," Martin Griffiths, the UN coordinator for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief said in a statement marking six months since the conflict started.
"Basic services are crumbling. Even in areas we can access, humanitarian activities are hamstrung by underfunding. Just 33% of the US $2.6 billion required to help those in need in Sudan this year has been received."
Health experts warn that cholera has already hit most parts of the country affected by the conflict, with over 1,000 suspected cases in Gedaref, Khartoum, and Kordofan.
Official data shows that 45 aid workers, all national staff of humanitarian agencies, have been killed in the line of duty.
Elusive peace
Efforts to get General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his rival, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, to the negotiating table have yet to succeed.
A committee recommended by the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) and headed by Kenya set out in June to mediate in the conflict but is still unable to progress.
In July, Egypt held a summit of Sudan’s neighbours, all of whom called for a ceasefire. This initiative to revive international efforts to end the fighting has yet to bear fruit either.
While addressing the UN General Assembly, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan alleged foreign interference in the conflict is one of the reasons why Sudan continues to burn.
"Regional and international interference to support these groups is crystal clear. This means that this is the first spark that will burn the region and directly impact regional and international peace and security," he said.
RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo said in a video message that his forces were prepared for ceasefire and comprehensive political talks to end the conflict.
Neither side is, however, walking the talk.
As fighting continues on the ground, those still trapped in the cauldron of war seem to have reconciled to living in uncertainty.
Those who have managed to flee, battle a sense of hopelessness each day away from their native country and unsure if their lives will ever be normal again.
