On 30 March 2021, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)—together with 38 international and national partners—launched the 2021 inter-agency refugee funding appeal for Sudan. The US$574 million response plan will assist over one million refugees in Sudan to meet their basic needs, bolster self-reliance, and realize their rights.

Sudan hosts one of the region's largest South Sudanese refugee populations, with over 762,000 of them living in the country as of February 2021. Over the years, refugees also arrived from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Syria, the Central African Republic and other countries. Sudan continued to uphold its open border policy in 2020 and by the end of the year received about 50,000 refugees from Ethiopia's Tigray region. More new influxes were reported into Blue Nile and White Nile states.

Refugees in Sudan face high levels of poverty further exacerbated by the continued economic crisis and inflation, the COVID-19 pandemic and seasonal flooding which hit record-high levels last year. Sudanese people also grapple with high levels of food insecurity and forced displacement, with around 2.5 million being internally displaced.

"The newly launched response plan brings together 38 international and national organizations to work towards solutions and provide immediate assistance in all sectors - including food security, livelihood, protection, water, sanitation, hygiene, health, shelter and relief items," said UNHCR's Representative in Sudan, Axel Bisschop. "Nearly 270,000 Sudanese from the host communities will also benefit from these inter-agency initiatives.

Through increased engagement with development actors, UNHCR and partners will also support the Government of Sudan's efforts to include refugees in its national health and education systems, support self-reliance, access to employment and durable solutions - as pledged at the 2019 Global Refugee Forum.

The UNHCR Country Refugee Response Plan is integrated into the Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) which estimates that 13.4 million people—including nationals, internally displaced persons, and returnees—will need humanitarian assistance in 2021.