Additional Context: This information was collected as part of The Aid Report’s original reporting, "Volunteers struggle to feed displaced Sudanese amid US aid cuts.” Journalist Aunnab Elman reported on how funding losses and the withdrawal of international agencies have compounded an already severe displacement crisis, leaving local volunteer networks to absorb humanitarian gaps at a scale beyond their original design.

The Emergency Response Rooms have long acted as informal field operators in areas the U.N. cannot reach, tapping into the World Food Programme supply chain to distribute and prepare food, but the scale and scope of that role has grown significantly. Following U.S. funding cuts and the withdrawal of international agencies, responsibility for frontline service delivery in Sudan’s displacement camps has shifted to these volunteer-led networks.A press release from the U.N. Human Rights Council notes that these volunteers “continue to risk their lives to deliver life-saving aid across the country.”

Devex Researcher Note: As of January 2025, Emergency Response Rooms only operated in the seven states of northern Sudan. In late 2026, 80% of Sudan's 1,460 community kitchens had closed due to the loss of U.S. funding. The situation as of early 2026 appears to reflect a slight recovery in financing and an uptick in operations, likely driven by acombination of funding from international awards and recognitions, contributions from new funders, a U.S. replenishment of the Sudan Humanitarian Fundannounced in February 2026, donations channeled through theMutual Aid Sudan Coalition — which passes funding directly to these initiatives — and continued support from theSudanese diaspora. It is important to note that the Emergency Response Rooms areinformal, decentralized operations mostly without legal status, which makes financing data difficult to gather and track systematically.

Source: Devex