Brussels: Europe remains Sudan’s largest source of relief, and the Sudan aid effort now stretches the bloc’s humanitarian budget to its limit. The war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces has driven the world’s biggest displacement crisis, and the European Union keeps writing the largest cheques.

At the third international conference on Sudan, held in Berlin in April 2026, the EU and its member states pledged more than €812 million for people inside Sudan and across its borders. Between 2023 and 2026 the bloc allocated €598.3 million directly to Sudan, and roughly €975 million once regional support counts.

The figures describe a catastrophe. More than 13 million people have fled their homes. Some 33.7 million need assistance. Aid agencies have confirmed famine in several areas, while millions more face severe hunger and rising gender-based violence.

Brussels channels its money through trusted partners rather than the warring parties. UN agencies, the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, and international NGOs deliver the food, water and medical care. That model keeps aid at arm’s length from the generals, yet it depends on access that both sides routinely block.

The Council pairs the funding with pressure. The EU has sanctioned commanders and companies that fuel the fighting, and it presses for humanitarian corridors and a ceasefire. Diplomats concede that their leverage stays thin while outside powers arm both camps.

Neighbouring states carry much of the weight. Chad, Egypt, South Sudan and Ethiopia now host millions who crossed the border with nothing, and their own services buckle under the strain. European aid increasingly follows those routes, funding camps and cash transfers far beyond Sudan’s frontier.

The strain reaches Europe itself. The Commission has begun reforming its humanitarian aid to cope with more crises and flatter budgets. Sudan competes with Ukraine, Gaza and a record wildfire season for the same shrinking pot.

Why it matters: Sudan rarely commands headlines, yet it holds the largest hunger emergency on earth. Europe’s role as top donor buys real influence over how the response unfolds, and it exposes the bloc to blame when the aid cannot reach the people who need it.

What comes next: agencies want the Berlin pledges turned into cash quickly, before the lean season deepens. The EU wants safe corridors and accountability for attacks on civilians. Both depend on a war that neither donor money nor sanctions has yet managed to stop.