GENEVA

The conflict in Sudan is expanding into a regional humanitarian crisis, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) warned on Tuesday.

“The conflict in Sudan is not only a crisis inside Sudan. It is a crisis spreading across the region,” said Danielle Brouwer, IFRC communications coordinator, who was addressing reporters in Geneva from Juba, South Sudan.

“Funding is drying up while needs continue to rise. It slowly turns into a nightmare,” she added.

Nearly 4.5 million people have fled Sudan to neighboring countries, many arriving in already fragile areas, according to the IFRC. In Renk, South Sudan, Brouwer said people “survive with almost nothing.”

“They walk long distances for water, often eating just one meal a day. There are too few toilets, and a hospital serving 60,000 people is running dangerously low on medicines,” she said.

Overcrowding is also worsening conditions. About 8,000 people are waiting at a transit center in Renk, far exceeding its capacity, with many forced to sleep in makeshift shelters, the communications coordinator said.

She highlighted the story of a mother of two who fled Khartoum, saying she and her children walked 500 kilometers (310 miles) to find safety.

The crisis is expected to worsen with the approaching rainy season in South Sudan, raising the risk of flooding and disease.

Brouwer also warned that global supply disruptions due to the Middle East conflict are delaying aid deliveries, calling for urgent international support to prevent further deterioration.

“For example, tents currently stored in Dubai are facing delays. And special kits to treat cholera cannot be delivered to Chad yet,” she said. “And an IFRC food shipment to Sudan could not go to Port Sudan but had to come all the way through Egypt.”

She noted that such a route change is not only “more costly” but also means people in dire need of aid must wait even longer.