Thank you for the opportunity to address you today.

This year, between January and April, I was in Sudan with Doctors Without Borders, or MSF. We currently provide medical assistance in nine states across Sudan. Speaking from my experience on the ground, it is not an exaggeration to describe Sudan as being ensnared in a perfect storm of conflict, displacement, malnutrition and ethnic- and gender-based violence.

The country's health system is on the brink of a total collapse, with 70% to 80% of health facilities no longer operational. A real threat of disease outbreaks looms, as the national immunization program has been disrupted since the conflict began. Our teams administered the last vials of vaccines weeks ago, and no new supplies have reached the areas where they are critically needed.

Despite the magnitude of this humanitarian crisis, we witness an alarming absence of other humanitarian actors in the areas where we work. This may be partly due to security concerns amid ongoing violent fighting in certain parts of the country, with aid workers being killed, injured and harassed, and humanitarian supplies being looted. The lack of humanitarian response is also driven by gross underfunding. Over a month ago, at the international humanitarian conference for Sudan in Paris, numerous countries pledged support, including Canada, which committed $132 million. Notwithstanding these pledges, the Sudan humanitarian response plan for this year remains only 16% funded.

In my intervention today, I would like to focus on one specific issue: the lack of humanitarian access.

As we speak, it is estimated that 11 million people—that is, nearly half of those in need of aid—are effectively denied assistance as a result of the systematic obstruction of cross-line movements by both parties to the conflict and the restrictions of cross-border operations imposed by the Government of Sudan. Since the country succumbed to war, cross-border operations from Chad have been the only means of accessing the Darfur region. Being present in Darfur, MSF confirms that there are no other viable options to reach that part of the country.

In that regard, the closure of the Adré border crossing by the Government of Sudan in February has drastically limited the assistance that can now reach Darfur. This is particularly concerning when the majority of the 4.9 million people whom the UN has assessed to be just one step away from famine are found in the Darfur region and the window to scale up response to avert the onset of famine is quickly shrinking.

The recent military escalation in and around El Fasher in north Darfur has rendered cross-border operations via the Tine crossing—the only crossing from Chad that the Government of Sudan has consented to after February—impossible. Additionally, MSF and other aid actors continue to face systematic obstructions and deliberate denials of safe humanitarian passage by both parties to the conflict. Since the end of September, our requests to send personnel or medical supplies across conflict lines have been repeatedly denied.

The persistent lack of authorizations has recently forced MSF to suspend work and withdraw staff from the Madani Teaching Hospital, which is the only functional hospital in the capital of the state of Al Jazirah. Before our suspension, MSF had been the only international NGO providing medical humanitarian assistance in Madani.

To prevent the crisis from further spiralling into a catastrophe, interventions at all levels are needed and are needed now. There is no time to lose. We therefore respectfully urge the Canadian government to do two things.

First, we ask that you reinforce your diplomatic efforts to demand that parties to the conflict uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law and their commitment to the Jeddah declaration. Specifically, they should immediately cease all acts denying, obstructing and interfering with or politicizing humanitarian action and facilitate unimpeded humanitarian access, including through all possible cross-lines and cross-border routes, to expedite aid. They must also protect civilians from violence and protect medical and humanitarian missions from attacks.

Second, consider increasing your funding commitment or making the funding available in a flexible and innovative way. We should not forget that there is a very vibrant civil society in Sudan, and some Sudanese organizations and volunteer networks are responding to needs where international actors cannot reach.