Mr. Dominic MacSorley:

I thank the Chairman and members for the invitation to attend the meeting. I will not dwell on the political and military context, the analysis of which is available. I prefer to focus on the humanitarian crisis, the international response and Ireland's role within that.

Sudan is seven months into a conflict that has now spread across vast parts of the county, left at least 10,000 people dead, among them Sudanese aid workers, and displaced millions. Today, Sudan has the highest number of displaced people, internally and externally, in the world, eclipsing both Syria and Ukraine. Intensive fighting continues in Khartoum, making it a no-go zone for international aid workers. The fighting has also deeply affected Kordofan in the south and Darfur, where I am, in the west, both areas where Concern has been working for years. The level of destruction has been brutal, with homes looted and burned to the ground, schools and colleges destroyed and livelihoods wiped out. Across the country, WHO estimates that 70% of all heath facilities are not functioning. Our own assessment of the 84 heath facilities that are supported by Concern in Kordofan and west Darfur shows that everything has been looted, including beds, chairs, filing cabinets, drugs and, importantly, supplies of RUTF, which is an essential medicine to keep malnourished children alive; it is all gone.

Two days ago, I visited Ardamata in Darfur, which has been the scene of intense fighting until very recently. Our nutrition manager was visibly upset. The place is like her home, she said, but it is now a shell and she has nothing available to her to help sick children. Less than 100 yd from the health centre, thousands of families who have been displaced, not just once but multiple times in the past seven months, are literally trying to survive. One young woman told me her 13-year-old son was not just hungry; he was terrified, clinging to her day and night. However, our Concern staff are there and will be back. It is really important to state that despite access and security challenges, aid is getting thorough and, collectively, UN Red Cross, international NGOs and national NGOs have reached more than 4 million people with humanitarian assistance. It is not enough. Prior to the conflict, we were treating 200,000 malnourished children across these centres. Today, that figure is closer to 3,000 or 4,000. However, with the support of Irish Aid, among others, we are restarting, restocking and reaching more people every day. War destroys much in its path but not everything. There has been a long-term investment over the years in training heath staff, setting up mothers' groups, building resilience programmes and working with local partners. All of this, of course, has been hugely disrupted but it has not been destroyed. The integrity of that capacity is retuning and needs to be supported.

On the delivery side, the channels for humanitarian assistance are there. Access is not easy and trucking over vast distances is costly but these channels are operating as effectively as they can. They also need to be supported but that is not being done to the level that is needed. It is not acceptable that less than 35% of the $2.6 billion needed to support 18 million people has been secured. We are in a world where we will face more, not fewer, major emergencies. Crises, climate charge and conflict are on the rise. Today, El Niño is devastating fragile livelihoods across the Horn of Africa. It can no longer be business as usual. The resources are there to support multiple crises adequately and to invest in their prevention.

I pay tribute to Irish Aid and the Irish public for their continued support for our work in Sudan. Irish Aid funding is renowned for being predictable, flexible and focused. These key characteristics are essential in this context and allowed us to redirect funding recently to purchase 2,000 shelter kits for displaced families. I have been an aid worker for 40 years. I have been proud to wear the Concern-Irish Aid brand. I am not the only one. Our courageous Sudanese staff in Darfur, who were in hibernation during the worst of the fighting, greeted me four days ago wearing the Concern-Irish Aid caps. It is their identity also. They feel that connection, especially when times are tough.

I recognise that donors fund multiple international partners, but let us ensure that we do not just maintain but enhance the direct human connection between the Irish public, Irish Aid, Irish aid agencies, their national partners and people in the communities, for it is they who are often closer to the situation locally. At the policy and political level, a global Ireland has already demonstrated its influence and leadership on the world stage. We urge that this influence be exercises at the EU level, where, frankly, Sudan is not getting the necessary political attention or the necessary level of resources to match the scale of the tragedy that is unfolding.

Twenty years ago I was privileged to lead Concern's response in Darfur. Back then, the situation there grabbed the sustained attention of the media and donors. Today, the next generation is going through the same living hell except, this time, they feel largely abandoned. We can and must change this. I thank the committee for the opportunity to brief it today.