President Donald Trump called for a review of the United States’s investment in foreign aid to ensure it supports our interests. A periodic review of this kind is valuable and necessary. But crises such as Sudan‘s show that the U.S.’s role in providing humanitarian assistance is not just charity; it’s a smart strategy. In places where chaos fuels extremism, destabilizes entire regions, and threatens trade, U.S. investment in humanitarian responses pays dividends for security and stability.
In war-ravaged Sudan, independent reports estimated the death toll to be as many as 150,000 since the conflict began more than two years ago. The number of people forcibly displaced is now the largest in the world, surpassing Gaza and Ukraine. According to the United Nations’s high commissioner for refugees, Sudan’s conflict between Sudanese government forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has forced more than 12 million people to flee their homes. Every displaced woman, child, and family is not only a human tragedy but also exacerbates regional instability.
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The World Food Programme warned that Sudan could also become the world’s worst hunger crisis in recent history. Twenty-five million people face acute hunger and famine in 10 areas of the country, and children often have nothing to eat but hay or animal feed.
The city of Al Fashir has become the most contested front line in the war, where brutal clashes have driven hundreds of thousands of residents to flee. The civilians who remain face worsening conditions, including daily shelling and blockades of food and supplies. This scale of famine and violence, if left unchecked, risks even greater mass migration, conflict, and extremist recruitment across the region, directly undermining U.S. security interests and draining allies of their capacity to contain the fallout.
More than 20 years ago, I witnessed Sudan’s suffering as a correspondent for the Fox News Channel assigned to cover Darfur’s genocide. A brutal militia known as the Janjaweed rode through villages on horseback, ransacking the countryside and raping women and girls. Ragtag soldiers, some barely teenagers, murdered men and boys with machetes before incinerating Darfur’s villages. Standing amid the embers, I understood the U.S.’s unique role in the world and why what happened far from home affected its interests. U.S. leadership amid the crisis ensured that instability did not engulf the region or embroil the U.S., and we can do the same today.
The Trump administration should be applauded for its efforts to end the conflict by communicating with warring parties, working with neighboring countries, coordinating with international groups, and convening the Sudan Quad partners, which include Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates. The U.S. is also pushing for urgent aid deliveries to El Fasher and beyond. The crisis, however, far exceeds the humanitarian assistance required. That’s why continued U.S. leadership is crucial. Groups doing the work, such as UNHCR, which helps manage camps and provide food and basic shelter, can access vulnerable populations in ways that no one else can and should continue to be funded. This assistance helps prevent Sudan’s crisis from becoming an opening for hostile actors while fostering regional stability and security.
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I understand why many conservatives are skeptical of international assistance, especially when the U.S. has plenty of problems at home. However, we should keep in mind that U.S. interests in the region also include security on the Red Sea, combating growing Russian and Chinese influence, and counterterrorism. In nearby Djibouti, the U.S. maintains Camp Lemonnier, the only permanent military base on the continent, from which troops conduct counterterrorism operations against al Shabaab and al Qaeda terrorist networks. The U.S. military supports security partners, including Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda, which are important sources of intelligence and regional cooperation.
As Trump’s vow to facilitate peace in Sudan demonstrates, “America first” policies should continue to include strategic investments in war-ravaged areas such as Sudan to keep the crisis in check.
Heather Nauert is a former Department of State spokeswoman and acting under secretary for public diplomacy and public affairs.