Sudan crisis enters its third year

On the second anniversary of the devastating conflict in Sudan, The Rt Hon David Lammy MP is hosting a Foreign Ministers’ summit in London today (15^th April). The summit, organised in collaboration with the UK, France, Germany, and the African Union, aims to provide a ‘pathway to peace’ and halt the world’s worst humanitarian crisis (The UN).

Foreign Ministers from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Chad, Kenya, the United States, and the European Union will gather in London. With backers of several warring factions expected to attend, the summit presents an opportunity to build international consensus and end what has tragically become a proxy war between regional powers.

Over the past two years, millions of innocent civilians, especially in Darfur, have endured unimaginable suffering. Widespread famine has taken hold, hospitals and essential infrastructure have collapsed, and violence, including widespread sexual violence affecting even the youngest of children, has become a horrifying norm.

Access to humanitarian aid remains dangerously limited. UN convoys are being blocked by both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), forcing many international organisations to suspend or drastically scale back operations. Limited aid has only managed to reach larger cities and refugee camps, no help has reached remote villages.

Thanks to the commitment of its local volunteers, Kids for Kids continues to deliver life-saving aid to its 110 villages across North Darfur, communities that are now also sheltering displaced families. The volunteers have been distributing Kids’ Kitchen Kits – lentils, pulses, powdered meat, and groundnuts – to provide vital nutrition to starving children. Seeds, veterinary drugs, blankets, mosquito nets, first aid kits, and essential medicines are also being delivered. Incredibly, the Kids for Kids trained village midwives are providing critical care to pregnant women where it has become too dangerous to travel to hospitals that are barely functioning.

“Our grassroots, sustainable model is working,” says Patricia Parker OBE, Founder and CEO of Kids for Kids. “Because we invested in training, provided villages with the means to help themselves, our villages are some of the most stable in Darfur. But the situation is becoming catastrophic. We urge the international community to act now. Time is running out. But hope is not lost, not yet. The resilience of the people of Darfur inspires us every day. With urgent action, we can still save lives and rebuild a future.”

Listen to Patricia Parker OBE on BBC Radio Surrey on the James Cannon Show: