As Sudan’s humanitarian crisis spirals, Adam Ibrahim’s life has swung between roles: aid worker, refugee, and once again, a lifeline for those trapped in the crossfire of war. His story, shared ahead of World Humanitarian Day on 19 August, mirrors the struggles of millions in a nation where over half the population—30.4 million people—urgently requires aid, yet global support lags. The 2025 Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan remains critically underfunded, with just 13.3% of required resources secured, leaving displaced communities in Darfur and beyond increasingly vulnerable.
Ibrahim, a former United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) officer, was preparing his daughter for exams in Zalingei, Central Darfur, when clashes between armed factions erupted in early 2023. “The streets became battlegrounds overnight,” he recalled, describing frantic efforts to stockpile supplies before fleeing with his family of 10 after 39 days under siege. Their 23-day journey through South Darfur, White Nile State, and South Sudan ended in Uganda, where they secured asylum within days. “Holding those refugee cards, I finally breathed,” he said.
But stability abroad came at a cost. Months later, Ibrahim faced an agonizing choice: remain with his family in Kampala or return to Darfur. “Leaving them shattered me, but how could I abandon others living through what I’d survived?” he said. Back in Zalingei, his hometown was unrecognizable—buildings pockmarked by bullets, his home occupied by a displaced doctor’s family, and children as young as 15 carrying weapons. “People were shells of themselves, waiting for the next attack,” he noted.
Deployed to El Geneina in West Darfur, Ibrahim encountered streets littered with charred military vehicles and armed patrols. Humanitarian needs there—food, medicine, clean water—outstripped available resources, a gap worsened by recent donor funding cuts. “It’s devastating to see aid groups scale back as needs grow,” he said. Despite this, his team assisted over 800,000 displaced people across Darfur between 2023 and 2025, while cross-border convoys from Chad delivered vital supplies to isolated communities.
Now separated from his family, whom he visits annually, Ibrahim remains in Sudan, driven by duty and necessity. “This work is why I returned,” he said. “But every day without them is a wound.” His account underscores a crisis where resilience clashes with dwindling global attention, leaving humanitarians like him to bridge gaps in a fractured nation.
