Despite UK promises on Sudan, aid cuts are driving the conflict’s fallout in South Sudan to breaking point – Oxfam

A devastating combination of an escalating conflict in Sudan and drastic aid cuts – including planned reductions from major donors such as the UK – is pushing South Sudan towards an unprecedented humanitarian collapse, Oxfam warned today.

Despite the UK Government hosting a high-profile Sudan conference in April promising not to “look away”, very little has followed in terms of concrete action, while planned wider cuts to foreign aid risk further stripping back the life-saving support people urgently need. All of this is having a devastating impact on the world’s newest country, South Sudan. with over a million people having arrived there fleeing the civil war in Sudan.

Magnus Corfixen, Humanitarian Lead at Oxfam GB, said:

“The UK government must keep Sudan firmly in focus and ensure South Sudan is not overlooked. Prioritising and supporting both countries is essential to prevent the region from sliding deeper into conflict and humanitarian disaster.”

Almost 6 million people - nearly half of the population - in South Sudan are experiencing acute hunger, with little access to clean water or sanitation. Massive aid cuts have forced humanitarian programmes to significantly scale down, while the number of people in need of support has soared. On top of the influx of refugees from Sudan more than 2 million people are also internally displaced due to conflict across South Sudan, as well as widespread flooding.

This year, South Sudan has seen the least amount of funding ever provided by donors since the country was created in 2011. With only a month of the year left, the country’s $1.6 billion emergency Humanitarian Need and Response Plan for 2025 is less than 41 per cent funded.

In Renk, one of the country’s most densely populated towns where up to 1,000 people are arriving at transit centres every day, Oxfam is being forced to scale down its operations by 70 per cent over the next month. Unless new funding is secured by February, Oxfam will have to shut down its operations there entirely.

Shabnam Baloch, Oxfam’s South Sudan Country Director, said:

“These aid cuts are catastrophic for the millions of people already grappling with extreme hunger and disease. We are now confronted with the heartbreaking reality of having to scale back our humanitarian response and in Renk, potentially have to close entirely in less than three months. It is as though the world is turning its back on those who need help the most, at the very moment when their survival hangs in the balance.”

In Renk, communities are grappling with multiple health crises too. Currently, there is only one clean water tap for every 433 people in one transit centre - almost half the accepted humanitarian standard.

New cases of cholera, acute watery diarrhoea and Hepatitis E continue to be reported, with 450 (35 per cent) hospitals or health clinics either closed or severely disrupted.

Maria, moved to Sudan, but returned to South Sudan because of the escalating civil war across the border. She said:

“There is poor sanitation and hygiene, many water taps no longer work. We fear for the fact we no longer see the help we had before. Households are now minimising the amount of water they use, and we could see a worse situation where there is little or no water at all. Yet water is life.”

Oxfam is also concerned that the huge cuts to humanitarian assistance are directly translating into increased vulnerability for women and girls, with awful consequences, such as child marriage or sending women and girls to forage for resources in unsafe areas, where they risk exposure to sexual violence.

Baloch added:

“We urge International donors not to forget what is happening in Sudan and the knock-on impact on South Sudan, where millions of vulnerable people could be left to starve or face a rapid spread in disease if the vital lifeline of aid is not urgently restored.”

Ends

Contact

Zara Sarvarian | zsarvarian1@oxfam.org.uk | + 07584265077

Notes to editor:

Voice-note of Kamba Anthony, Advocacy Manager at Oxfam South Sudan, speaking about the situation in Renk can be downloaded from here

UN OCHA’s Financial Tracking Service shows the Humanitarian Need and Response plan (HNRP) for South Sudan, with requirements and funding gaps each year since 2011 (Please see table below)

The World Food Programme announced last week a near $400m funding shortfall for the next six months and the impact of cuts

Oxfam is currently supporting 44,000 refugees and returnees in Renk with clean water, and sanitation services. Among them are more than 9,000 people residing in Transit Centre 2 (TC2), where water, sanitation, and hygiene conditions are already critically overstretched. UNHCR and IOM data shows the number of people arriving each day.

A recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report for South Sudan found that nearly 6 million people are experiencing acute hunger; this includes nearly 1.3 million people with very high acute malnutrition and an increased mortality rate. The report forecasts that these figures will worsen, reaching 7.5 million people in crisis by April next year. The IPC analysis on South Sudan was published on 4 November 2025.

The humanitarian standard for the number of people per tap of clean water is generally set at a maximum of 250 people per tap. In the transit centres in Renk, there are just 30 functioning clean water taps for 13,000 people.

People can donate to Oxfam’s Emergency Response fund here