Sacha Baron Cohenon Thursday pledged $500,000 in donations to the International Rescue Committee and Save the Children USA to aid in their work in war-torn Sudan, where 11 million people have been displaced and the country faces the worst levels of famine it has ever seen.
The escalation of an 18-month conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces have forced the migration, both within Sudan and to neighboring countries like Chad, South Sudan and Ethiopia, while also cutting off humanitarian aid.
An estimated 755,000 people are living in famine-like conditions there, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification data.
Sacha Baron CohenKate Green/Getty Images for BFI
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Right now, there are 25.6 million people experiencing hunger in Sudan, a country which is swiftly moving towards the worst famine seen in decades, yet this crisis is receiving alarmingly little attention, said the Oscar-nominated Baron Cohen, who says the charities are delivering essential nutrition, water, sanitation, and health services to those most in need.
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The Sudanese people urgently need our help and must not be forgotten, he continued.
I call on friends, colleagues and the general public to join me in contributing whatever you’ve got the option to to this life-saving work.
Said Janti Soeripto, president and CEO of Save the Children USA: In the Zamzam Camp in North Darfur, an estimated one child is dying every two hours already.
Its unacceptable.
With Sachas generous donation Save the Children can reach over 10,000 people in Sudan helping families with cash assistance, establishing mobile health clinics, providing safe drinking water and creating child-friendly spaces.
Support like Sachas is needed now, more than ever, and we hope his interest and donation lead to more people taking similar life-changing action.
Baron Cohen over the past decade has donated to charities supporting children and families in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Somalia.
Among his efforts, he funded the building of a maternity hospital in Hodeidah, Yemen, which is still open today, and at the start of the Covid pandemic he sent a planeload of PPE to National Health Service workers and first responders in the UK.
