Canada pledges $120M in aid for Sudan as brutal civil war enters fourth year

A woman carries food as she leaves a charity kitchen in Khartoum, Sudan, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Marwan Ali)

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says Ottawa is increasing its aid for Sudanese people experiencing a “horrific” civil war, as advocates call on Canada to take a more active role in stopping the conflict that entered its fourth year on Wednesday.

“Sudan is a priority for us,” Anand told The Canadian Press. “I’m gravely concerned about the worsening humanitarian crisis.”

She spoke after the government announced another $120 million in humanitarian and development aid for people in Sudan and those who have fled to neighbouring countries.

Anand said hunger is being used as a weapon of war in Sudan but it’s up to global tribunals to decide whether a genocide is taking place.

The United Nations says 34 million people in Sudan -- two-thirds of the population -- need humanitarian support. More than 13 million people have been displaced and the UN has reported at least 40,000 deaths, though aid groups say the true death toll is likely much higher.

The conflict began as a political struggle between the country’s military and paramilitary forces and erupted into a brutal ethnic conflict in the Darfur region.

Sudan is now divided between a military-backed, internationally recognized government in the capital Khartoum and a rival Rapid Support Forces-controlled administration in Darfur, a region in western Sudan.

The funding announced Wednesday includes more than $94 million in humanitarian aid, such as emergency food and nutrition support.

This includes support for projects led by CARE Canada, Oxfam Canada and Canadian Lutheran World Relief to assist people in some of the areas most difficult to reach, according to the three groups.

The groups praised Canada for increasing funding but noted the UN humanitarian plan to assist Sudan has received just under 17 per cent of its required funding.

Ottawa is also sending $25 million in development assistance, including support for schools and trauma counselling, through Save the Children Canada, along with funding for sexual violence prevention through the UN.

Randeep Sarai, secretary of state for international development, announced the funding at a conference in Berlin, where he decried the “profound disregard for human life” in Sudan. He said all parties must cease hostilities.

At that conference, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said the equivalent of more than C$2 billion in humanitarian aid has been pledged by various nations.

Wadephul told German media the aid was being offered to help fill a funding gap left by cuts to U.S. foreign aid under President Donald Trump.

The Sudanese government in Khartoum, meanwhile, slammed the conference as “unacceptable” interference and said Germany didn’t consult with Sudan before convening it.

Both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces stand accused of using aid to reward supporters and punish opponents by blocking aid delivery or demanding it go through militias instead of the UN and charities.

Anand said Wednesday’s funding tops up $220 million that Canada already has pledged for people living in Sudan and those who have fled the conflict.

“There is credible evidence that starvation is being deliberately used as a method of warfare,” she said.

“Hospitals (and) civilian infrastructure across the board are being targeted. Women and girls have described sexual violence not as an exception, but as an inescapable reality.

“The people of Sudan need water. They need health care services. They need nutrition, they need safe places to be, and security. This is what international humanitarian law stands for.”

Action Against Hunger Canada noted this week that two separate famines are occurring in Sudan.

“The relentless violence, displacement and siege tactics have systematically dismantled Sudan’s food system. Farms have been destroyed, farmers killed, and markets disrupted by attacks, closures and exploitative taxation,” the group wrote.

Anand said Wednesday’s aid announcement is part of Canada’s efforts to help civilians caught up in wars and political conflicts in places ranging from Cuba to Lebanon.

“One of the priorities that this aid underlines is for us to be responsive in this very volatile world where civilians and civilian infrastructure are consistently being attacked,” she said.

Washington has accused Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces of committing a genocide. Anand said that determination is up to international courts.

“The legal determination of whether a situation amounts to a genocide rests with international tribunals, but we do not shy away from identifying that there may be credible evidence -- as there is in this case -- of severe and horrific human rights abuses,” she said.

She noted the RSF attack on a hospital in the Sudanese city of el-Fasher last October, which killed hundreds of patients and led to the kidnapping of multiple health workers.

Videos posted online showed hospital rooms pocked with bullet holes, and a Yale University analysis of satellite images found pools of blood suggesting mass killings at multiple sites.

Numerous aid groups are calling for more attention and funding for the Sudan crisis.

The Montreal-based Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights has proposed a plan to empower civil society in Sudan, end the violence and seek accountability through multilateral institutions.

The plan, released Wednesday, has been backed by multiple advocates, including former United Nations ambassador Bob Rae and former senator Romeo Dallaire.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 15, 2026.

— with files from The Associated Press