Kristin Davis Witnesses Sudan Crisis Toll in South Sudan

UNHCR warns that the combination of escalating arrivals and shrinking resources is pushing operations to breaking point.

Actor and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Kristin Davis has visited South Sudan to spotlight what aid agencies describe as the world’s largest and most devastating displacement crisis — and one of the least funded.

Travelling to Renk Transit Centre and the Joda border crossing, Davis met Sudanese refugees and South Sudanese returnees fleeing escalating violence in Sudan, where nearly 12 million people have been uprooted since conflict erupted in 2023.

“The level of need here is huge – people have been through unimaginable violence and trauma. Urgent humanitarian assistance is desperately needed for families who are fleeing the brutal war in Sudan,” Davis said at the conclusion of her visit.

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World’s Largest Displacement Crisis

The war in Sudan has triggered a humanitarian catastrophe of staggering scale:

• Nearly 12 million people displaced inside Sudan or across borders

• One in three people in Sudan forcibly displaced

• More than 1.3 million arrivals in South Sudan since the crisis began

• Thousands continue to flee daily, many for the second or third time

Despite the scale, funding remains critically low. In 2025, only 25 per cent of the required funding for the Sudan response has been received.

UNHCR warns that the combination of escalating arrivals and shrinking resources is pushing operations to breaking point.

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At the Border: Overwhelming Needs, Limited Resources

At Joda Reception Centre — the main entry point handling roughly 70 per cent of arrivals — Davis observed UNHCR and partners providing life-saving support, including:

• Emergency shelter

• Primary health care

• Clean water and sanitation

• Protection services

Yet overstretched facilities and severe funding gaps are constraining the response.

Matthew Brook, UNHCR Representative in South Sudan, said the crisis demands urgent international backing.

“As more people continue to arrive every day, life-saving humanitarian assistance remains essential,” Brook said.

“But without adequate funding, both the emergency response and longer-term solutions are at grave risk.”

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Women and Children Bear the Heaviest Burden

Women and children account for approximately 80 per cent of those fleeing Sudan, many arriving with acute health and psychosocial needs.

New arrivals at the Joda crossing described:

• Attacks on civilians

• Destruction of homes and infrastructure

• Widespread fear and insecurity

• Reports of sexual violence, abuse and exploitation

Funding shortfalls have had devastating consequences. In South Sudan, three-quarters of safe spaces for women and girls have closed, cutting off tens of thousands from life-saving support and protection services.

“The women told me of the violence they experienced – they need safety and support immediately,” Davis said.

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Moving Toward Stability Amid Fragility

UNHCR, working with the Government of South Sudan and humanitarian partners, continues to relocate South Sudanese returnees from overcrowded transit centres to longer-term integration sites such as Abukadra, where families can begin rebuilding their lives.

However, humanitarian leaders caution that without sustained funding, both emergency assistance and longer-term recovery efforts could collapse.

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Call for Urgent Global Action

Davis, who has supported UNHCR since 2014 and became a Goodwill Ambassador in 2017, said the people she met were not seeking sympathy — but survival.

“The people we met are not asking for sympathy. They are trying to survive this emergency and hoping to be able to rebuild in the future,” she said.

“This crisis demands more attention, more resources and more action – now.”

As displacement continues to surge and funding lags far behind needs, UNHCR is urging the international community to step up support to prevent further deterioration in one of the world’s most severe humanitarian emergencies.