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How Funders Can Address the Growing Famine in Sudan
June 17, 2025 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm PDT
This webinar is hosted by The Center for Disaster Philanthropy and co-sponsored by Alliance Magazine, Giving Compass, PEAK Grantmaking, Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders, and United Philanthropy Forum.
One in three people worldwide (2.83 billion people) cannot afford a healthy diet. Hunger affects everything in a person’s life: physical health, mental health and cognitive development.
Hunger and famine are preventable. Global food production is high enough to feed everyone on the planet, but hunger continues due to unequal distribution of food and conflict. At least 85% of people experiencing hunger live in conflict-affected countries.
Goal 2 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals is Zero Hunger, which is defined as: “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.” However, the targets of this goal are not being achieved, and in many cases, the situation is getting worse. More people need nutritional support and suffer from food insecurity than ever before.
Famines are the extreme outcome of persistent food deprivation. On Aug. 1, 2024, famine was declared in Sudan at Zamzam, one of the camps for internally displaced people, home to a million people. CDP’s Sudan Humanitarian Crisis Fund focuses on supporting mutual aid groups and emergency response rooms (ERRs) in the country, which are working hard to address the hunger crisis. Now that USAID funding has been halted, most ERRs have had to shut down their feeding programs, including all 40 community kitchens in Zamzam camp. The crisis is growing.
Join us for a webinar to discuss the systemic causes of hunger and the differences between famine and hunger. We will also explore why hunger and famine are preventable disasters.
By the end of this webinar, donors will:
- Learn more about the disproportionate impact on women and girls.
- Explore how funders can reduce famine and hunger.
- Recognize the repercussions of USAID budget cuts.
Who should attend?
- Anyone interested in learning about hunger and famine
- Philanthropic organizations, individual donors and funders
- Philanthropic advisors
- Disaster response and recovery professionals
- Community leaders and policymakers
Speakers:
Federico Motka, Head of Emergencies and Humanitarian, Vitol Foundation
Federico Motka currently serves as the Head of Emergencies and Humanitarian Portfolio at the Vitol Foundation, a position held since September 2021. Previously, Federico co-founded FieldWorks, a social enterprise dedicated to supporting local non-profits, and worked at Amanacard in operations and special projects focused on providing aid to crisis zones. Additional experience includes coordinating assessment programs for IMPACT Initiatives and managing emergency projects for Welthungerhilfe, including responses to major crises in Afghanistan and natural disasters in Asia. Federico’s career also encompasses roles at ACTED and an internship with UNDP, with a strong academic background in Development Economics and International Development from Johns Hopkins SAIS and Geography and Economics from LSE.
Musab Swareldhab Saty, Humanitarian Response Coordinator, Adeela
Musab is a dedicated professional in project management and digital transformation with over 3 years of experience leading cultural and humanitarian projects. Currently, he serves as a Humanitarian Response Coordinator at Adeela, where he manages humanitarian aid projects, coordinates with donors, and represents the organization in national and international coordination councils. His passion lies in leveraging digital solutions to enhance project management and improve the effectiveness of humanitarian interventions.
His expertise also extends to overseeing workshops, increasing project visibility, and acting as a liaison between youth initiatives and Adeela. He is committed to making a positive impact on the communities he works with, while consistently striving for sustainability and innovation in his projects.
Moderator:
Patty McIlreavy, President and CEO, Center for Disaster Philanthropy
Patricia “Patty” McIlreavy (MAC-ill-ree-vee) is president and CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, the only full-time resource dedicated to helping donors maximize their impact through more intentional giving in response to domestic and international disasters. CDP’s expertise and tangible results for communities worldwide have helped it evolve into a trusted resource for philanthropy. With over 30 years of experience in international humanitarian policy and practice, Patty brings a unique blend of operational and strategic expertise to disaster philanthropy. Throughout her career, she has focused on improving the effectiveness and impact of the aid sector.
Prior to joining CDP in March 2020, Patty served as vice president of the humanitarian team at InterAction. During that time, she directed InterAction’s efforts to assist the humanitarian community, including its NGO members, United Nations (UN) agencies and the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement (RC/RC), to address the needs of marginalized populations. While at InterAction, she represented the organizations’ membership and participated in numerous inter-agency and independent reviews of country-level coordination and impact, traveling regularly to crisis-affected countries. Patty expanded NGOs’ position, partnerships, and influence in multilateral and bilateral forums and global events and led the development of the InterAction CEO Pledge on the Prevention of Sexual Abuse, Exploitation, and Harassment of and by NGO Staff.
Patty has more than 17 years of lived overseas experience, primarily in Africa and the Middle East, working in direct support of response and recovery operations. While based out of Jordan, Patty worked as a consultant for a diverse group of organizations, including humanitarian NGOs, RC/RC, the UN and NATO. Before this, Patty worked for the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in positions of increasing responsibility, based out of Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Burundi and Kenya. As regional director for the Horn and East Africa, she oversaw IRC’s relief, rehabilitation and post-conflict development programming, totaling more than $134 million, across eight countries. Patty’s experience in the humanitarian field began in 1993 when she joined USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance.
A frequent writer and sought-after speaker on humanitarian leadership, equitable recovery and philanthropy in disasters and humanitarian crises, Patty has given keynotes and spoken on podcasts, with media and at events, such as The Value In Giving, Alliance Magazine, the Sabanci Foundation Seminar, Texas A&M PRIMR, The Conference Board and Exponent Philanthropy’s annual conferences.
Patty holds a master’s degree in International Affairs from the American University School of International Service and was a 2014-2015 fellow of MIT’s Seminar XXI program. She has served on multiple inter-agency committees, including the U.S. Department of State’s Stabilization Advisory Council, the UN OCHA Change Management Advisory Group and the CSIS Task Force on Humanitarian Access. She is currently a member of the Global Executive Leadership Initiative Technical Advisory Committee, the Forbes Non-Profit Council and a Leap Ambassador. Patty taught as an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service from 2021 to 2024.
