Canada has pledged an additional $120 million in humanitarian and development aid for Sudan, as the nation’s devastating civil war enters its fourth year. The announcement, made by Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, comes amid escalating reports of systemic starvation and targeted violence against civilians.
The new funding is intended to address a catastrophic collapse of basic services and food security. Of the total, more than $94 million is earmarked for immediate humanitarian relief, focusing on emergency food and nutrition support for those within Sudan and Sudanese refugees in neighboring countries. An additional $25 million will provide development assistance, including trauma counseling and support for schools via Save the Children Canada, alongside UN-led initiatives to prevent sexual violence.
This latest commitment tops up an existing $220 million in pledges from the Canadian government. The move reflects a growing urgency to stabilize a region where the United Nations reports that 34 million people—approximately two-thirds of the population—now require humanitarian support.
A Strategy of Starvation and Systemic Violence
Minister Anand did not mince words regarding the nature of the conflict, stating that there is “credible evidence that starvation is being deliberately used as a method of warfare.” This tactic of weaponizing hunger has pushed millions to the brink of famine, while essential infrastructure is systematically dismantled.
The violence has been particularly acute in the Darfur region, where the conflict has shifted from a political power struggle between military and paramilitary factions into a brutal ethnic conflict. Anand highlighted a specific attack on a hospital in the city of el-Fasher last October, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of patients and the kidnapping of healthcare workers.
The scale of the atrocities has led the United States to accuse the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of committing genocide. While Anand acknowledged the evidence of “severe and horrific human rights abuses,” she maintained that the formal legal determination of genocide rests with international tribunals.
Supporting this grim assessment, a Yale University analysis of satellite imagery has identified pools of blood at multiple sites, suggesting mass killings, while online footage shows hospital wards pocked with bullet holes.
