Two Years of War and the Possibility of Reconstruction

Dr. Haitham Mohamed Fathi

UN and media reports estimate the total economic losses of the Sudanese war at approximately $200 billion,

and the human losses at hundreds of thousands killed, wounded, and missing, with 60% of the country’s infrastructure destroyed.

The displacement of approximately 30% of the population, including internally displaced persons and refugees, amounts to approximately 12.5 million Sudanese, out of a population estimated at 42 million.

The Sudanese industrial sector that was located in Khartoum State, accounting for 85% of the total. All factories in Khartoum have been damaged, with varying degrees of theft, looting, arson, demolition, and destruction. This suggests that the industrial sector in Sudan has completely collapsed. The Sudanese economy relies on the services sector (46%), the agricultural sector (33%), and the industrial sector (21%).

The Sudanese pound’s exchange rate depreciated by 80% during the two years of war alone, from April 15, 2023, to April 15, 2025.

The agricultural sector, which employs 80% of the workforce, was destroyed by an estimated 65%. Farmers were displaced, supply chains were disrupted, and inputs such as fuel, seeds, and fertilizers declined. The country lost two agricultural seasons, while the next season faces significant challenges.

Large parts of Sudan and many states have fallen out of the national economy and production cycle, especially those with oil reserves, which export livestock, meat, peanuts, gum arabic, and gold. These states’ products contributed significantly to the country’s reliant exports.

Currently, two years after the war was sparked by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) rebellion, the government has begun serious efforts to address the reconstruction process. However, there are no funding sources yet. Nevertheless, Sudan, as a country and a people, has hope that friendly and sisterly countries, which have previously provided assistance to Sudan during crises, will not leave Sudan alone in its reconstruction crisis. We rely on the efforts of the country’s leadership and senior officials in this regard.

The cost of financing the country’s reconstruction exceeds Sudan’s capabilities. Therefore, it is expected that the government will work to establish a Sudan Reconstruction Fund through a law that defines the tasks for rebooting the Sudanese economy.

Funding for such a fund will be based on assistance provided by international organizations, the World Bank, the United Nations, and donor countries.

It could also be based on investments and donations from individuals or non-profit institutions, with donations typically made through international conferences. The government must also seek solutions by mobilizing the country’s own resources, borrowing from regional and international financial institutions, or through serious investment partnerships as a significant resource for the country’s post-war economy.

The reconstruction process must be conducted according to a governance system and an independent body with a law, oversight, and governance that defines spending methods and priorities according to specific principles, rules, and laws.

The war has eroded the country’s economic capabilities. The impact of this war has not been limited to the destruction of economic sectors only, but has also extended to infrastructure and citizens’ housing, negatively impacting the foundations of economic development, people’s livelihoods, and the disintegration of the social fabric. Therefore, work requires various parallel paths for economic recovery. On the one hand, the value of the currency must be preserved, prices stabilized, and the basic services system restored. On the other hand, financing efforts must be mobilized from external sources to rebuild what the war has left behind, whether in terms of citizens’ housing or various sectors, most notably (electricity, water, roads, bridges, overpasses, etc.), not to mention education, health, infrastructure, and damaged services. All of these files need to be restored to their pre-war state and developed, as they pose real challenges to the government and all donor agencies.

Shortlink: https://sudanhorizon.com/?p=5144