The UK will double its aid to Sudan and neighboring countries, providing more than £110 million to those affected by the war.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the program doubles the UK’s aid commitment and will help more than 600,000 people to Sudan.

In total, £43.5 million of funding will be provided to help UN and NGO partners provide food, cash, shelter, medical assistance, water and facilities health in the country.

For the more than 700,000 people who have fled war to Chad, South Sudan, Uganda, Libya and other neighboring countries, the FCDO has allocated £69.5 million, for a total of £113 million.

Sudan’s war began last April when the transition from military to civilian rule collapsed, after a disagreement over how the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) would be integrated into the army.

Learn more:
Massacre in the streets of Sudan

Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lamy said the war has caused “unimaginable suffering”, adding: “The people of Sudan need more help, which is why the UK is helping to provide much-needed food, shelter and education to the most vulnerable.

“But we cannot provide aid without access. Starvation must not be used as a weapon of war and we can only end this famine if every border crossing and road is open, accessible and safe.”

Mr Lammy then said he would use Britain’s presidency of the UN Security Council “to push for a resolution guaranteeing the protection of civilians and the free passage of aid”. He added: “The UK will never forget Sudan.”

Violence between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) has since left at least 20,000 dead, according to the UN.

However, the Sudan Research Group at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said earlier this week that it estimated more than 61,000 people had died in Khartoum state alone, where the fighting began.

After 18 months of war, the FCDO said more than 500,000 people in the Darfur region are in famine conditions, more than 11 million people have been displaced and 25 million are in desperate need of aid.

Learn more about the war:
Videos lift the veil on Sudan after the “100 massacres”
Life will never be the same for those who were unable to flee Khartoum North
What happened in Sudan?

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Minister of State for Development Anneliese Dodds also said in an FCDO statement: “The humanitarian crisis in Sudan is worsening.

“Famine and disease are spreading, and by next year many more people will be in desperate need of help. We must avoid further suffering by acting now. »

The RSF and SAF have been accused of war crimes in Sudan by the UN. Human Rights Watch has also accused the RSF of ethnic cleansing in Darfur, which it denies.