After a year of civil war and roiling insecurity, Sudan is experiencing the world's largest refugee emergency, with 6.6 million people forced to flee their homes to other areas of the country.
Sexual violence has been wielded as a weapon of war, indiscriminate of age and devoid of mercy. Millions are pushed towards catastrophic levels of hunger, and attackers are using desperation to their advantage.
“We ran out of food after hiding for a month,” said 14-year-old Sarah. “I went out with my sister to search for something to eat – three armed men found us. My sister managed to escape, but they raped me.”
Kidnappings have also soared in conflict-hit areas: For 22-year-old Shakra, an evening at her friend’s house quickly spiraled into a nightmare. “Four men forced me into a car and drove for two hours,” she told UNFPA. “They raped me and left me there for two days without water or food.”
UNFPA is working with partners to provide lifesaving reproductive health and protection services, especially in areas with high numbers of internally displaced people. Since war broke out one year ago, more than 100,000 people have been reached with reproductive health and medical services and more than 600,000 with violence response and prevention services.
Your gifts are delivering lifesaving care and protection to the women and girls left most vulnerable in Sudan’s ongoing crisis. But as war eclipses the one-year mark, we cannot look away.
Will you make an emergency gift to deliver lifesaving care to the women and girls in Sudan and beyond who need it most?
Thank you for not looking away from this crisis.
— USA for UNFPA