Today, at a United Nations Security Council meeting on Sudan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the United States will provide nearly $200 million in additional humanitarian assistance for Sudan in response to the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. 

Beginning on Friday, another wave of artillery hit North Darfur’s Zamzam camp for internally displaced Sudanese civilians. While there is not yet an estimate of casualties from the violence, hundreds of people have since fled the camp – displaced once again by violence from a camp that is itself supposed to be a safe haven for those displaced by violence.

The United States, through USAID, is providing $5 million in humanitarian assistance to support refugees in Libya affected by the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in Sudan. Since the start of the crisis, nearly 2.2 million people have been forced to flee Sudan in search of safety elsewhere in the region, including Libya. 

Today, the United States announced nearly $424 million in additional humanitarian assistance for people in need in Sudan and in neighboring refugee-hosting countries, including more than $276 million through USAID and more than $147 million through the Department of State. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced this additional assistance at a Sudan-focused event co-hosted by the United States during the UN General Assembly High-level week to call for global action to address the deepening humanitarian crisis in Sudan and its impact on the region. 

I want to begin with some news today, and that is specifically out of a ProPublica report, just today that they're saying that in the spring of this year, USAID submitted a report to the State Department that included an assessment that said Israel was blocking aid into Gaza, specifically medical and food aid.

All around the world, in every sector of development, we have seen how these are the leaders who drive the most transformative and enduring change. But, changing our mindsets and our methods across the agency has, of course, been challenging. It has proven time-consuming to reach beyond our established partners to build relationships with these local groups. It has often taken more staff resources to help new partners navigate the sometimes-complex process of partnering with USAID.