After fleeing violence and famine in Darfur, women and children face severe trauma and hunger

Aisha

After the conflict erupted in April of 2023, Aisha – a mother of eight – was forced from her home in South Darfur. Recalling her harrowing search for some semblance of safety, she said: “Days turned into nights as we trekked for long distances under the scorching sun, our children crying from hunger and thirst.” She was pregnant at the time.

Today, the family lives in an informal displacement camp in South Darfur where life is a constant struggle. “Now,” she said, “we face hunger, disease, and the despair of a future without hope.”

Sadia

Sadia, a 40-year-old Sudanese woman arrived at the Mile Camp in Chad with her two daughters and elderly mother after violence drove them from their South Darfur home.

“They came at night while we were sleeping and destroyed my house,” Sadia said, her voice heavy with grief. “I took my mother, my daughters, and a donkey and ran. There was so much fighting in our village.”

After finally arriving in Chad, unexpectedly, she explained she was thankful to have arrived in a place where she “could stop running.” However, life there has brought new challenges, including a daily struggle to find food.

Speaking in front the family’s small hut, she shared: “My 15-year-old daughter is walking around the camp right now to find food or work. There is no food here in the camp. For the first four months we received food, but then it stopped, and we need to find ways to find food by our own. Every evening, I worry about the day to come. Will we find enough food? Do we have enough strength left in our body to survive? When we eat, we only eat a small handful and never feel satisfied. We do not eat every day. If we eat it is only some flour with water.”

A living nightmare

The living nightmare for millions of Sudanese has continued now for nearly 20 months, with no end in sight. Amid unthinkable violence, including pervasive sexual violence, 12 million across the country have been forced from their homes – within the country and to neighboring states like Chad – making Sudan the largest displacement crisis in the world. Sudan holds another distinction: the biggest hunger crisis on earth, with more than half the population acutely food insecure.

Across Darfur, the fighting has resulted in significant casualties, damage to critical infrastructure, and deteriorating living conditions. Essential supplies like food, water, and fuel have been scarce. What is available for sale is exorbitantly priced. The siege of El Fasher, a city of 500,000 and the capital North Darfur, began in April of this year and has placed an added layer of suffering on the region. Last August, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) determined that famine was occurring at the Zamzam Camp, 17 kilometers to the south of the city. The violence there has also significantly disrupted the delivery of critical aid into other parts of the country, as El Fashir serves as the main route for supplies into South, West and East Darfur.

Hundreds of thousands from Darfur have fled to Chad where more than 720,000 Sudanese have crossed the border. In eastern Chad, the strain on local resources has been immense. Prior to April 2023, when this conflict started, more than 6.9 million living in Chad were in need of humanitarian assistance. And like Sudan, Chad is grappling with its own hunger crisis. The country ranks 125 out of 127 on the World Hunger Index, with high food prices, disrupted trade, and climate shocks worsening hunger.

Unanswered calls for humanity

“These testimonials are absolutely heart wrenching. Yet they are a tiny sample of what countless families, countless women and children across the country – who are simply seeking to live their lives – are facing every single day. Their testimonies warn of rampant violations of the rules of war. Tragically, continuous warnings from the humanitarian community – including a famine determination – have fallen on deaf ears. A commitment to protect civilians by the warring parties has been ignored, a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire recently vetoed, peace talks are floundering. This is unacceptable.” said Deepmala Mahla, CARE, Chief Humanitarian Officer.

Ending this devastating crisis requires political will and collective action to stop the conflict and address this acute human suffering. Warring parties must reach and abide by a country-wide ceasefire and uphold international humanitarian law (IHL) – including the protection of civilians – by immediately ceasing the targeting of civilians and the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, protecting humanitarian workers and assets, and removing all obstacles to the sustained, timely, effective and principled humanitarian aid delivery to all that urgently need it. Donors must urgently fund a gender-responsive multisectoral response that addresses the debilitating and deadly impact of acute hunger, malnutrition and famine, as well as growing protection needs recognising the shocking rise of Gender-Based Violence, including sexual violence. The international community must also demand an end to IHL violations and create an enabling environment for the humanitarian response. This action is needed now to prevent further suffering.

For more stories of women fleeing violence in Darfur, click here.

For media inquiries, contact: usa.media@care.org.