American Government Efficiency Might Add Famine to the Worst Humanitarian Situation

The Sudanese region has long been a hotspot for illegal migration, human trafficking and danger in general for its population. For long years, the conflict in South Sudan (formerly Darfur) displaced a great number of its population but now the trend almost turned over: many arrive in South Sudan since violent battle broke out in 2023 in Sudan. U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive decisions to halt development aid for the region also complicates things for the worse and the potentially tragic.

As thousands of displaced people continue to cross the border into South Sudan’s Upper Nile state at the Joda border, 30 miles (50 km) north of the town of Renk, the youngest country in the world is dealing with the worst humanitarian crisis of recent times. Since the conflict started in April 2023, more than 12.5 million people in Sudan have had to leave their homes. At least 5,000 people fled fighting and bombing between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) into South Sudan every day during the first weeks of December.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) classifies individuals as either refugees or “returnees” at a checkpoint on the crossing. For many of the returnees, coming to South Sudan means going back to a place they believed they would never see again after escaping the civil war that started in 2013.

The South Sudanese are now hosting their neighbors and, occasionally, their erstwhile countrymen. “We refer to the Sudanese side as ‘North Juba’ and the South Sudanese side as ‘South Juba,’ so we are one people,” a humanitarian told British newspaper The Guardian.

The map of the river Nile, with Sudan and South Sudan in the middle (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
The map of the river Nile, with Sudan and South Sudan in the middle (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Some decide to travel independently, making their way to the unofficial settlements that have appeared along the road between Joda and Renk, close to the White Nile River. Every day, new neighborhoods, improvised mosques, and small businesses emerge in these makeshift communities. Others choose to take the IOM-organized buses and trucks to neighboring towns.

According to Medicines Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders, MSF) data, about 110,000 people have arrived in Renk County since December, with 70,000 of them residing in informal settlements like Gosfami where there is little access to food or water. According to MSF, 14 tents were set up on the Renk hospital’s grounds to accommodate the surge of war-wounded patients.

“We treat South Sudanese returnees, the local population, and Sudanese refugees here,” says MSF physician Atem Deng Ajak.

The Trump Administration announced on January 20, 2025, that it was freezing almost all foreign aid. Due to a lack of clear guidelines regarding what was and wasn’t permitted, chaos swiftly broke out throughout USAID.

Chaos swiftly replaced confusion. A group from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) broke into USAID’s secure systems without the necessary security clearances, as has been widely publicized. After DOGE threatened to contact the US Marshalls, USAID security officials who stepped in to safeguard sensitive and classified information were put on leave. Conflicting directives were difficult for staff and contractors to understand; one allowed lifesaving operations to continue with a waiver, but few partners knew how to get one, while the other enforced a freeze.

Elon Musk, the leader of DOGE, announced that USAID would be shut down on social media, writing, “We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper.” could have attended some fantastic parties. Instead, I did that. A few days later, administration representatives made conflicting announcements: some said USAID would shut down, while others said it would transfer to the State Department. Thousands of loyal employees have already been let go or put on involuntary leave.

The kitchens, which are a part of Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs), a grassroots, civilian-led initiative to provide humanitarian assistance, have been able to deliver food, medicine, and other necessities to people in areas of the country that aid organizations are unable to reach.

USAID provides more than half of South Sudan’s humanitarian budget, so Donald Trump’s funding freeze is a new setback for the country.

Abuzar Osman Suliman, the coordinator of the ERRs in Sudan’s western Darfur region, told NBC News on Friday that “many people will die because of hunger” if the United States funding is not provided.

On January 20, Trump signed an executive order freezing foreign aid, which forced American-funded development and aid initiatives around the world to close and lay off employees.

Although USAID officials and aid organizations claim that neither funding nor staffing have been restored to enable even the most critical programs to resume operations, Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that he had attempted to lessen the harm by issuing a waiver to exempt emergency food aid and “life-saving” programs.

 

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