UN says struggling to help millions fleeing Sudan war find shelter

Emergency shelter means immediate protection for people whose homes are destroyed, unsafe, or unavailable. It can include tents, blankets, and essential household items. Families need it quickly because shelter protects them while they try to rebuild their lives. For people returning to damaged communities, finding somewhere safe to live is often the first step toward recovery.

The need is especially urgent in Sudan because fighting has damaged houses, infrastructure, and essential services. Since the start of the year, the International Organization for Migration distributed more than 40,000 tents. Mohamed Refaat said its warehouses were then completely empty, showing how quickly supplies can disappear.

The crisis may worsen if new shelter materials do not arrive. The United Nations estimates that 15.4 million people need emergency shelter and household items. Yet agencies have reached only 900,000 people. Without funding and supplies, families may remain exposed while rebuilding becomes harder.

The scale of Sudan’s shelter crisis is enormous. The United Nations estimates that 15.4 million people need emergency shelter and essential household items. These include people displaced by fighting, people returning home, and families whose homes or communities have been damaged. Shelter is one part of a wider humanitarian emergency involving hunger and displacement.

Aid agencies have reached only 900,000 people, according to Mohamed Refaat, the IOM chief of mission in Sudan. UN agencies said they had been able to target just 10% of those in need because of funding shortages. The figures show the difference between the population requiring help and the much smaller group receiving it.

The shortfall leaves millions without reliable support. Only one third of the $179 million needed for shelter this year has been funded. If financing and supplies do not improve, agencies will be unable to expand assistance, even as displacement and returns continue.

Millions have been displaced because war has made homes and communities unsafe. The conflict began in April 2023 between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and Sudan’s regular army. It has killed more than 200,000 people, according to aid workers, and triggered the world’s largest hunger and displacement crises. People flee to safer areas inside Sudan or cross international borders.

Around 8.6 million people remain displaced within Sudan. Millions more have fled across borders, while others have returned home. Returning families often find houses, infrastructure, and essential services damaged or destroyed. This means returning does not necessarily restore normal life; it can create a fresh need for shelter, food, and basic household supplies.

Displacement is therefore continuing in several directions. Some people remain internally displaced, some become refugees outside Sudan, and some come back to damaged communities. The war’s destruction, combined with hunger and high prices, makes it difficult for families to settle safely or rebuild stable lives.

If shelter supplies run out, displaced families may be left without a safe place to sleep or store basic belongings. The danger is greatest for people returning to communities damaged by war. A return home does not guarantee safety when houses, infrastructure, and essential services have been destroyed. Shelter is therefore not a minor comfort; it supports survival and recovery.

The situation is already visible in Sudan. Since the start of the year, IOM distributed more than 40,000 tents, but Mohamed Refaat said the agency’s warehouses were completely empty. He warned that families could soon desperately need shelter while nothing remains available. Three in four internally displaced people are women and children.

Without new supplies, families may remain exposed and unable to rebuild. They also face pressure from hunger and high food prices. Money spent on food cannot be spent on blankets or safe-shelter materials. The shortage can therefore prolong displacement and make returning home much harder.

United Nations agencies cannot help more people because the response lacks money and supplies. They said funding shortages allowed them to target only 10% of people needing emergency shelter and household items. The overall humanitarian plan is also severely underfunded. This limits procurement, transport, and distribution even when agencies know where needs are greatest.

The shelter appeal illustrates the gap. UNHCR and IOM said $179 million was needed this year for shelter, but only one third had been funded. IOM had distributed more than 40,000 tents since the start of the year, then reported that its warehouses were completely empty. Funding shortages have become a direct supply shortage.

As a result, agencies reached only 900,000 people, while 15.4 million need shelter assistance. The wider humanitarian plan, requiring $2.9 billion, was less than half funded. Unless support increases, agencies will continue making limited, difficult choices while millions remain without help.

Below-average rainfall makes the shelter crisis worse by reducing harvests and increasing pressure on household budgets. The article links El Niño-related weather conditions to significantly below-average rainfall across Sudan. Harvests have been affected in Darfur, Kordofan, and other areas already devastated by fighting. Families therefore face both damaged livelihoods and destroyed homes.

Food prices would normally ease after the harvest season, but they remain painfully high. For a family that has lost everything, each Sudanese pound spent on food is money unavailable for a blanket or materials needed for safe shelter. This is the key mechanism: food insecurity competes directly with spending on protection and rebuilding.

The result is a deeper humanitarian crisis. Families may have fewer resources to repair homes, buy household items, or establish safe shelter. With fighting still damaging communities and funding already short, poor rainfall and high prices could make recovery slower and leave more people dependent on aid.

An internally displaced person, or IDP, is someone forced to leave home because of conflict or danger but who remains inside the country’s borders. A refugee has also been forced to flee, but has crossed an international border into another country. Both may need shelter, food, and protection, but their locations create different aid situations.

Sudan has both groups. Around 8.6 million people remain displaced within the country, making them internally displaced people. Millions have fled across borders and are refugees in the countries where they sought safety. Millions more have returned home, often finding their houses, infrastructure, and essential services damaged or destroyed.

The distinction matters because displacement does not end simply when people leave the immediate fighting. Internally displaced families may still face destroyed communities and scarce supplies inside Sudan. Those who cross borders also need support, while people returning home may need shelter to rebuild. The article describes a crisis affecting all three groups.