The Interview, The Interview, SungAh Lee, International Organisation for Migration: Sudan needs us

The Interview

The Interview

SungAh Lee, International Organisation for Migration: Sudan needs us

29 April 2026

23 minutes

Available for over a year

“I saw the damage, the loss. The buildings being destroyed, the infrastructure being completely damaged in that area. And it was sad and heartbreaking.”

Waihiga Mwaura speaks to SungAh Lee, from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) about the war in Sudan which has entered its fourth year and has led to one of the worst humanitarian crisis and biggest displacements of people.

SungAh Lee recently travelled to Sudan to assess the situation on the ground. She tells us how it felt to return to parts of the country she had spent time in as a child. She explains how current conflicts are changing migration patterns and what impact cuts to government aid budgets are having on people effected by war.

Thank you to the Focus on Africa team in its help in making this programme.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with the head of UNAids Winnie Byanyima, Nigeria’s Information Minister Mohammed Idris, and UN chief Antonio Guterres. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Waihiga Mwaura

Producer: Cordelia Hemming

Editor: Farhana Haider

Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: SungAh Lee Credit: IOM/ Muse Mohammed)