play Live Sign upShow navigation menuplay Live Click here to searchsearchSign upNews|Sudan warHumanitarian situation in Sudan at ‘catastrophic levels’, says NGOHumanity & Inclusion says people with disabilities face extreme challenges amid war and humanitarian crisis.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoRecently arrived Sudanese refugees ride through the Oure Cassoni refugee camp on February 24, 2026 in Oure Cassoni, Chad [File: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images]By Al Jazeera StaffPublished On 9 Apr 20269 Apr 2026The humanitarian situation has reached “catastrophic levels” for civilians and is even more critical for persons with disabilities three years into the war in Sudan, the nongovernmental organisation Humanity & Inclusion says.
The war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces erupted in April 2023, unleashing a wave of violence that has led to one of the world’s fastest-growing man-made humanitarian crises since then.
Humanity & Inclusion, an international NGO focused on disabled and vulnerable people in dire situations, said in a statement on Thursday that the situation of the most vulnerable continues to deteriorate as violence persists, basic services collapse, and threats are posed by unexploded ordnance.
The NGO said an estimated 11.6 million people have been displaced in the war, and more than 33 million require humanitarian assistance, adding that more than three million people had already returned home by the end of January 2026, including 700,000 from abroad.
Most returns occurred to states where violence had largely subsided, such as Khartoum, Blue Nile, and Gezira.
Humanity & Inclusion said that 4.6 million people, about 16 percent of Sudan’s population, live with disabilities.
“In conflict-affected areas, this figure is likely to be far higher due to injury, trauma, chronic health deterioration, and barriers to care,” the organisation said.
It added that people with disabilities “face extreme challenges in fleeing violence, accessing aid, and protecting themselves from harm”, adding that they are also often among “the first to be left behind and face significantly higher risks of violence, abuse, discrimination, and exclusion”.
Humanity & Inclusion pointed to explosive remnants of war as a “new and deadly danger” for millions of displaced people returning home.
“Areas of return and former front lines are heavily contaminated with unexploded ordnance, including antipersonnel mines,” it said.
“These hazards are present in homes, schools, hospitals, places of worship, and on roads, posing a constant threat to civilians and severely restricting access to essential services and livelihoods,” the group added.
