In the last few weeks, the brutal fighting in Sudan has led to hundreds of deaths and sparked a major humanitarian crisis. The United Nations estimates that more than 800,000 people have already become displaced.

Imagine needing to make decisions about your safety based on third-hand information from social media. People in Sudan and those who have left as refugees are faced with this challenge daily. With few options to access verified information they can trust, individuals must make life-changing decisions to cross borders, find safe shelter, and seek reliable healthcare. Information is everywhere, but people struggle to determine what is true, false, or potentially fatal.  

How Internews is Helping

In this incredibly difficult context, we at Internews are focusing our action on alleviating the humanitarian crisis affecting both communities. Our response is being informed by our local partners in the region. Together, we are working to:

• Share timely information about how to access humanitarian assistance, border crossing procedures, and relief services available to migrant communities;
• Support community radio stations to share vital information for new arrivals, returnees, and host communities accepting the more than 100k people who have already crossed borders into neighboring countries;
• Track, manage, and report harmful misinformation;
• Elevate the needs of affected communities to humanitarian agencies;
• Support local media to report accurately and responsibly on the conflict;
• Provide hyperlocal information to refugees arriving at border reception areas and health centers in South Sudan and Chad.

As rumors turn rampant and connectivity in Sudan and the bordering states becomes increasingly scarce, fact-checked, high-quality information like this can quite literally make the difference between life and death.

In Crisis, Media Turn to Internews

This work is made possible in part by the Internews Emergency Fund for Independent Media. We set up the Fund in 2022 to tackle the most urgent, vital needs – the kind of support that restricted grant funding often cannot cover. Thanks to the Fund, we have been able to respond immediately.

While the Fund is already saving lives and protecting information providers, the need is greater than our current means. With your support, we can ensure to match the growing needs of Sudanese people and other communities in crises across the world.

Your support helps people in Sudan, the region, and those with urgent needs around the world.