The EU hosted the third humanitarian Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) on Sudan on 13 March 2025. The meeting, held in Brussels, gathered humanitarian donors, United Nations (UN) agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross, international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and Sudanese local responders.
Close to 2 years since the beginning of the conflict, the humanitarian situation in the country continues to deteriorate. Sudan is the world’s largest displacement crisis, with over 15 million people uprooted from their homes. The conflict brought famine to Sudan, large scale food insecurity and civilians are facing shocking levels of violence.
The objective of the SOM was to bring together the humanitarian community to identify the challenges and opportunities to increase the effectiveness of the response in-country.
The meeting began with welcoming remarks from the EU Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib. She recalled that the situation in Sudan is unsustainable and emphasised on the EU’s commitment to delivering lifesaving aid to people in Sudan. She highlighted that, as humanitarian community, we must not only keep Sudan high in the global agenda but also reinforce the pressure on the warring parties to refrain from unlawfully denying humanitarian access, halt the blatant international humanitarian law violations, and mobilise in an efficient manner the necessary funding to assist those in need.
Throughout the day, participants actively exchanged on various aspects of the response, such as access restrictions, coordination, the centrality of protection and localisation. The discussions underscored the need for enhanced coordination, adaptability, and collaboration to navigate the complex realities on the ground. Donors agreed on a Chair’s summary outlining the key takeaways from the discussions and providing recommendations to improve collectively the effectiveness of the humanitarian response in Sudan.
For more information, please consult the Chair’s summary.
