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The escalating conflict in Sudan has forced millions of people to flee their homes over the last two years, with many thousands living in crowded refugee camps in neighbouring countries where they are vulnerable to the spread of deadly diseases. Catholic Aid Agency CAFOD has been working in Sudan since 2004, with donations from people across parish communities in England and Wales enabling the charity to work with local partners, and successfully distribute emergency food packages, support children whose families have been displaced by fighting, and fix water pipelines damaged by the current conflict.

Sudan was already one of the poorest countries in the world (ranked 170 out of 193 countries on the United Nations Human Development Index) with more than two years of civil war making the situation much worse. The war has displaced more than 11.4 million people within Sudan, with over 3 million people (mostly women and children) fleeing to neighbouring countries. Refugee camps along the White Nile in South Sudan are already at four times their capacity, with 1,000 more people seeking shelter every day.

CAFOD reached 116,449 people in Sudan last year with their healthcare programmes - which help to tackle the spread of diseases such as cholera - helping more than 300,000 people. Despite this, the conflict shows no sign of ending with famine confirmed in parts of North Darfur and at least 25 million people, more than half of Sudan’s population, in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.

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CAFOD have launched a petition calling on the UK Government to "act decisively now"; to find out more, click the button below. To find out more about CAFOD's work in Sudan, visit the charity's website.