(Adnkronos) – Italy on Wednesday called for Sudan’s three-year-old civil war to stop “immediately” and urged cooperation from “all countries supporting the warring factions”, underlining that “there is no alternative to peace”.
“The civil war in Sudan must be stopped immediately. We call on all countries supporting the warring factions to cooperate,” Tajani said at a humanitarian fundraising conference in Berlin on the third anniversary of the war’s outset.
“There is no alternative to peace,” Tajani told the conference, which being attended by European Union member states and non-European donors, United Nations agencies, regional and international organisations, local and international NGOs, and civil society members.
The humanitarian crisis in Sudan is the world’s worst, with 15 million people uprooted from their homes and famine gripping the Darfur and Kodofan regions, where the worst fighting between the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is taking place.
Over 30 million people in the war-hit country are in need of aid, while disruptions to shipping routes in the Middle East caused by the Iran war are driving up the cost of food, fuel and fertilizers – key imports for Sudan – according to the UN World Food Programme.
“Through the ‘Italy for Sudan’ initiative (launched in November), Italy has mobilised more than 130 tonnes of humanitarian aid and over six million euros for emergency initiatives, and we intend to further boost this support,” Tajani continued.
“But we must work harder to secure an urgent cessation of hostilities and to ensure humanitarian aid reaches the civilian population,’ Tajani said.
Italy has mobilised over 33 million euros since 2023 in emergency aid to Sudan: 18.5 million euros for international organisations operating on the ground (ICRC, IFCR UNHCR, WHO and FAO) and 14.65 million euros to support interventions by Italian NGOs, according to a foreign ministry statement.
Sudan is a key country for Italy’s overseas aid, which is prioritising access to basic healthcare services, the fight against poverty, economic development, social protection, human rights, the environment and food security, the statement continued.
The Berlin conference comes as governments worldwide are slashing aid budgets and only 16.2% of the United Nations 2.87 billion dollar needs assessment for Sudan this year has been met so far.
