Sudan: Humanitarian Appeal for 2024 Critically Underfunded, Raising just One-Fifth of Amount Raised to Rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral

• Today marks one year of deadly conflict in Sudan and five years since the Notre Dame Cathedral fire
• The cathedral fire grabbed headlines around the world and raised more than USD 745 million in just two days. In 2024 the Sudan crisis has had limited global attention and has raised just USD 155 million.

PARIS, (April 15, 2024) – In the first 105 days of 2024, the amount of money raised for the humanitarian crisis in Sudan is less than a fifth of what was pledged in just two days to rebuild the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Save the Children said.

The news comes as France, Germany, and the EU host a major conference on Sudan in Paris today, exactly a year after the conflict began – and as the French capital marks five years since the fire that caused major damage to the Gothic cathedral.

The war in the Sudan has created the world’s worst displacement crisis, with the intensity of the conflict leading to the displacement of four million children - the highest number in the world. More than 15,000 people have been killed since the war began, and 14 million children need humanitarian assistance to survive. Nobody was killed in the Notre Dame fire. 

A quarter of the way into 2024, global donors have given just over USD $155 million to the UN’s Humanitarian Response Plan for Sudan – just 6% of the funds needed, according to the UN’s financial tracking service. Meanwhile, donors pledged more than 700 million euros in just two days, or USD $745 million, to help rebuild Notre Dame. The total now stands at USD $760 million. 

Last year, the UN Humanitarian Response Plan for Sudan received less than half of what was required.

As well as raising funds, today’s International Humanitarian Conference for Sudan and its neighbors aims to call for respect for international humanitarian law by all parties to the conflict and to advocate for a full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access.

Data published by Save the Children and ACLED last week found that half of children in Sudan have been less than 5km from immediate gunfire, shelling or explosives in the past year of war.

Dr Arif Noor, Country Director of Save the Children in Sudan, said: "It is staggering that after a fire in which nobody died, donors from across the world were so moved to pledge funds to restore Notre Dame cathedral. Meanwhile, children in Sudan are left to fend for themselves as war rages around them, starvation and disease are on the increase, and almost the entire country’s child population has been out of school for a year.

“There has been limited to no collective global effort to protect children in Sudan – and now we are faced with the stark reality that people care more about a building than 14 million children. Enough sitting on the fence. Children and families in Sudan need leaders to commit to more funding today. 

“It is also critical that leaders use this opportunity to work directly with parties to the conflict to ensure they are adhering to their obligations under international humanitarian law. This conflict is marked by widespread and horrifying violations of children’s rights. Over 3,150 child rights violations have been reported in the last year, the majority involving the killing and maiming of children, child recruitment and sexual violence against children.”

Save the Children has worked in Sudan since 1983. In 2023, Save the Children directly reached 2.1 million people, with 1.5 million of them children, with programming focused on child protection, access to quality education, health and nutrition support and responding to emergencies.

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NOTES TO EDITORS: 
At the Paris conference, Save the Children is calling for increased funding, and for concrete commitments and action to better protect children.