More than 1.5 billion euros in humanitarian aid for Sudan was pledged at an international donor conference held in Berlin on Wednesday, as the country enters a fourth year of devastating civil war. The conference, co-organised by Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, the African Union and the European Union, brought together 54 countries and 61 delegations. European nations contributed roughly half of the total amount raised, with Germany alone committing 230 million euros.

The sum significantly surpasses the 850 million euros pledged at the previous Sudan conference held in London, nearly doubling that figure. However, the United Nations has warned that the funds still fall short of what is needed. Tom Fletcher, the UN's Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, stated that approximately 2.2 billion US dollars — around 1.8 billion euros — are required for this year alone to address the scale of the crisis.

Sudan, a country of roughly 50 million people in northeastern Africa, has been engulfed in conflict since April 2023, when fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The war has produced what the UN has described as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. More than 13 million people have been displaced inside the country and across its borders, and the death toll is estimated to run into the hundreds of thousands. Over 20 million people — half the population — are suffering from acute hunger. Famine has already been declared in parts of North Darfur and South Kordofan, with 20 additional areas at risk.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres, attending the Berlin conference, called the conflict a