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Press Release
13 September 2023
Statement by the Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami
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Press Release
11 September 2023
FAO launches emergency response plan to protect and restore agricultural livelihoods amid conflict
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Press Release
25 August 2023
War and hunger could destroy Sudan
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Latest
The Sustainable Development Goals in Sudan
The Sustainable Development Goals are a global call to action to end poverty, protect the earth’s environment and climate, and ensure that people everywhere can enjoy peace and prosperity. These are the goals the UN is working on in Sudan:
Story
08 August 2023
How a tea-seller displaced by conflict led her family away from hunger
Written by Mohamed Elamin
“We fled into the unknown with no destination in mind,” says Awadeya Mahmoud, describing the night in April when the sound of an explosion woke up her family of ten. By dawn, they and the people living near them in their south-Khartoum neighbourhood decided enough was enough, and fled the capital.
A worsening security situation is making it increasingly difficult for the World Food Programme (WFP) to reach the 6.3 million people it intends to this year. Since conflict broke out in the country on 15 April, it has reached 1.5 million with critical supplies, including 40,000 children aged under-5, pregnant and breastfeeding women.
Two days after the bombing, Mahmoud and her children made it to Albageir village in Gezira state.
“The war displaced my whole family and my children never healed from the horror they felt,” she recalls. “They refused to eat or drink. They were just crying.”
At the time, the family were out of money and had to sell what belongings they could to finance their journey to safety. “I fled my home together with my neighbours to arrive in Albageir [village] before reaching Wad Madani,” says Mahmoud, who leads a cooperative of women caterers, including tea vendors like herself.
“I had to sell [many of] my belongings to be able to take my family to safety,” she says.
Continued fighting in Sudan poses a threat to the current planting season and to farmers who are already struggling to cope with soaring prices of fertilizers and seeds.
When Mahmoud and her neighbours arrived in Madani, 186km from home, finding a place to sleep was extremely difficult. The city was already filled with displaced people from the capital, Khartoum. Luckily, the families she had arrived with found a house to cram into with a total of 37 children.
With basic shelter in place, the problem of hunger persists. A third of Sudan’s population was already food-insecure before the war, according to WFP.
“We seriously suffered, we had a food problem and some of the children suffered from fevers and measles,” says Mahmoud.
She is among 24,606 people that WFP has assisted in Madani through its new hub in the city.
Using food from WFP, Mahmoud put her skills to work and started cooking for fellow displaced people.
“We are on full stomachs now,” she says of the families who escaped with hers. “I was given flour, oil, and yellow split beans.
Gezira is among 14 of the 18 states where WFP has assisted people in the past few months, alongside, for the first time, the River Nile and White Nile states.
While many people have made it safely out of Khartoum, thousands of families remain trapped in conflict areas with no access to food and other basic needs. “My cooperative alone has 150,000 members and I am hoping that WFP will be able to help them,” says Mahmoud.
“What WFP is doing is not easy. It's what we need the most in Sudan because you’re mobilizing food around the world for people,” says Mahmoud.
“Humanitarian needs have reached record levels and there is still no sign of an end to the conflict,” says Eddie Rowe, WFP’s Country Director for Sudan.
“WFP is doing everything possible to deliver life-saving assistance to millions of people in Sudan, but insecurity and access constraints are restricting us from reaching more people, especially in Khartoum and West Darfur.”
The conflict has caused severe damage to critical infrastructure nationwide, and access to food, water, cash, fuel, healthcare, and other basic services has been fractured. Moreover, razed and looted markets, broken transport networks and dysfunctional markets have strained food availability.
In West Darfur, the situation is alarming with reports of ethnic violence against civilians. Insecurity is making humanitarian access to Sudan’s most food-insecure state nearly impossible.
WFP urgently requires US$410 million for its operations in Sudan to ensure immediate life-saving assistance to conflict-affected people like Mahmoud and her family.
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Press Release
08 August 2023
Severe violations of children’s rights an ‘hourly occurrence’ in Sudan, warns UNICEF
PORT SUDAN/NEW YORK – As the brutal conflict in Sudan hits 100-days, UNICEF has received reports of a staggering 2,500 severe violations of children’s rights - an average of at least one an hour. As these are just the numbers reported to UNICEF sources, the true figure is likely to be far higher, and a grim reminder of the day-to-day impact of the crisis on the most vulnerable, in a country where almost 14 million children need humanitarian support.
“The scale of the impact that this conflict has had on children in Sudan in the past 100 days is almost beyond comprehension,” said Ted Chaiban, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director for Humanitarian Action and Supply Operations, who is in Sudan this week. “Parents and grandparents who lived through previous cycles of violence are now having to watch their children and grandchildren experience similar horrific experiences. Each and every day, children are being killed, injured, abducted, and seeing the schools, hospitals and the vital infrastructure and life-saving supplies they rely on damaged, destroyed or looted.”
At least 435 children have been reported killed in the conflict, and at least 2,025 children injured.
In addition to those killed and injured, UNICEF has received alarming reports of escalating attacks against health facilities in parts of Sudan. An estimated 68 per cent of hospitals in the worst-affected areas have had to suspend service and at least 17 hospitals have reportedly been bombed. Several more hospitals are believed to have been turned into military bases, and there have been repeated reports of ambulances coming under attack.
Over three months into the conflict, millions of families have been uprooted from their homes by the violence. Before the crisis, nearly 3.8 million people were internally displaced in Sudan, 1.9 million of whom were children. 1.7 million additional children have been driven from their homes and are now on the move within Sudan and crossing its borders, vulnerable to hunger, disease, violence, and separation from their families. Reports of abductions, recruitment of children into armed groups, ethnically targeted violence, and gender-based violence against women and girls are also on the rise, with 4.2 million women and girls at risk of Gender-Based Violence.
Restricted movement due to the security situation, administrative barriers and bureaucratic impediments and the denial of humanitarian access, remain key obstacles to delivering much needed aid to those in desperate need and pose a threat to aid workers. Combined with the destruction and looting of critical supplies and facilities, this has left at least 690,000 children exposed to severe acute malnutrition and 1.7 million children under the age of one risk missing critical vaccinations, raising the risk of disease outbreaks.
“The past 100 days have shown that—as in any conflict—the direct and indirect impacts for children and families are devastating, and without concerted action, including the commitment of the parties to the conflict to stop the fighting and uphold international law, severe violations of children’s rights will only worsen,” said Chaiban. “Without guaranteed, safe and unimpeded access for humanitarian workers, and life-saving supplies, along with urgently needed additional funding, the futures of millions of children will remain in the balance.”
Despite the challenges, over the past 100 days UNICEF, with partners, has reached over 3 million children and women with health supplies, 1.4 million people with safe drinking water, and 1.7 million children with screening for malnutrition—of which 82,000 received life-saving treatment. In addition, almost 100,000 children and caregivers are benefitting from psycho-social counselling and protection support, including through over 400 safe-spaces established across the country.
To date, UNICEF delivered over 5,500 metric tons of life-saving supplies across Sudan, including in hotspot areas in Darfur, Kordofan, and Khartoum. However, while fighting continues, needs will only increase, with many vulnerable communities remain out of reach of humanitarian support.
As of mid-July, the UNICEF appeal for US$838 million to reach almost 10 million of the most vulnerable children in Sudan is only 9 per cent funded. UNICEF urgently needs $400 million to sustain and scale up critical life-saving health, nutrition, water, sanitation, learning and protection assistance to the most vulnerable children caught in this crisis over the next 100 days.
Media contacts Ammar Ammar Regional Chief of Communication and Advocacy UNICEF Amman Tel: +962 7 91837388 Email: aammar@unicef.org Salim Oweis Regional Communication Chief (OIC) MENARO Email: soweis@unicef.org
“The scale of the impact that this conflict has had on children in Sudan in the past 100 days is almost beyond comprehension,” said Ted Chaiban, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director for Humanitarian Action and Supply Operations, who is in Sudan this week. “Parents and grandparents who lived through previous cycles of violence are now having to watch their children and grandchildren experience similar horrific experiences. Each and every day, children are being killed, injured, abducted, and seeing the schools, hospitals and the vital infrastructure and life-saving supplies they rely on damaged, destroyed or looted.”
At least 435 children have been reported killed in the conflict, and at least 2,025 children injured.
In addition to those killed and injured, UNICEF has received alarming reports of escalating attacks against health facilities in parts of Sudan. An estimated 68 per cent of hospitals in the worst-affected areas have had to suspend service and at least 17 hospitals have reportedly been bombed. Several more hospitals are believed to have been turned into military bases, and there have been repeated reports of ambulances coming under attack.
Over three months into the conflict, millions of families have been uprooted from their homes by the violence. Before the crisis, nearly 3.8 million people were internally displaced in Sudan, 1.9 million of whom were children. 1.7 million additional children have been driven from their homes and are now on the move within Sudan and crossing its borders, vulnerable to hunger, disease, violence, and separation from their families. Reports of abductions, recruitment of children into armed groups, ethnically targeted violence, and gender-based violence against women and girls are also on the rise, with 4.2 million women and girls at risk of Gender-Based Violence.
Restricted movement due to the security situation, administrative barriers and bureaucratic impediments and the denial of humanitarian access, remain key obstacles to delivering much needed aid to those in desperate need and pose a threat to aid workers. Combined with the destruction and looting of critical supplies and facilities, this has left at least 690,000 children exposed to severe acute malnutrition and 1.7 million children under the age of one risk missing critical vaccinations, raising the risk of disease outbreaks.
“The past 100 days have shown that—as in any conflict—the direct and indirect impacts for children and families are devastating, and without concerted action, including the commitment of the parties to the conflict to stop the fighting and uphold international law, severe violations of children’s rights will only worsen,” said Chaiban. “Without guaranteed, safe and unimpeded access for humanitarian workers, and life-saving supplies, along with urgently needed additional funding, the futures of millions of children will remain in the balance.”
Despite the challenges, over the past 100 days UNICEF, with partners, has reached over 3 million children and women with health supplies, 1.4 million people with safe drinking water, and 1.7 million children with screening for malnutrition—of which 82,000 received life-saving treatment. In addition, almost 100,000 children and caregivers are benefitting from psycho-social counselling and protection support, including through over 400 safe-spaces established across the country.
To date, UNICEF delivered over 5,500 metric tons of life-saving supplies across Sudan, including in hotspot areas in Darfur, Kordofan, and Khartoum. However, while fighting continues, needs will only increase, with many vulnerable communities remain out of reach of humanitarian support.
As of mid-July, the UNICEF appeal for US$838 million to reach almost 10 million of the most vulnerable children in Sudan is only 9 per cent funded. UNICEF urgently needs $400 million to sustain and scale up critical life-saving health, nutrition, water, sanitation, learning and protection assistance to the most vulnerable children caught in this crisis over the next 100 days.
Media contacts Ammar Ammar Regional Chief of Communication and Advocacy UNICEF Amman Tel: +962 7 91837388 Email: aammar@unicef.org Salim Oweis Regional Communication Chief (OIC) MENARO Email: soweis@unicef.org
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25 April 2023
UN pledges to ‘stand with and work for the Sudanese people’
The UN Secretary-General on Monday welcomed the temporary relocation of hundreds of staff members and their families from the Sudanese capital Khartoum, amid the continuing intense fighting between rival military factions which has now entered its second week.
Speaking in the UN Security Council, António Guterres said: “Let me be clear: the United Nations is not leaving Sudan. Our commitment is to the Sudanese people, in support of their wishes for a peaceful and secure future. We stand with them, at this terrible time.”
In blunt terms, he said the violence must stop, now. "It risks a catastrophic conflagration within Sudan, that could engulf the whole region and beyond."
In a statement issued earlier by his Spokesperson, António Guterres said the relocation exercise had been carried out “without incident”, adding that he appreciated the cooperation shown by Sudanese army personnel and paramilitaries from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), allowing safe passage to Port Sudan, on the Red Sea.
“The Secretary-General reiterates his call on the parties to immediately cease hostilities and allow all civilians to evacuate from areas affected by the fighting.”
Mr. Guterres affirmed “the continued dedication” of the whole UN system, “to stand with, and work for, the Sudanese people, in support of their wishes for a peaceful, secure future and a return to the democratic transition.”
The warring factions had worked together since the ousting of long-term ruler Omar al-Bashir, four years ago, carrying out a military coup in a joint operation in 2021 which ended a military-civilian power sharing agreement. In recent months as negotiations over a return to civilian rule advanced, the two factions failed to agree an integration plan, on the road to the formation of a civilian government.
'Exert maximum leverage'
Addressing ambassadors in the Security Council during a general debate on the importance of multilateralism, Mr. Guterres condemned the “indiscriminate” bombing of civilian areas and facilities, calling on members “to exert maximum leverage with the parties to end the violence, restore order, and return to the path of the democratic transition.”
He said he was in “constant contact” with military leaders in Khartoum and has called on them to return to the negotiating table.
“Civilians must be able to access food, water and other essential supplies, and evacuate from combat zones”, he said.
Death toll
In its latest update, the UN humanitarian coordination office OCHA, reported that after nine days of fighting at least 427 people have been killed and more than 3,700 injured.
At least 11 health facilities have been attacked and many are no longer functioning at all in Khartoum and Darfur states.
Relocation and evacuation plan
In a statement issued by the UN Assistance Mission for the transition to civilian rule, UNITAMS, the Special Representative Volker Perthes, said that the relocated staff would be evacuated from Sudan, to neighbouring countries, “where they will work remotely, as a measure to minimize risks to their safety while continuing to provide assistance to the Sudanese people.”
About 700 UN, international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), and embassy staff and their families, have arrived in Port Sudan by road, he continued.
“Also, 43 internationally recruited UN staff and 29 INGO staff have already been evacuated from El Geneina (West Darfur) and Zalingei (Central Darfur) to Chad, while other operations are ongoing or planned.
‘Necessary measures’ to protect Sudanese workers
Mr. Perthes said he and a small number of other internationally recruited staff, would remain in Sudan “and continue to work towards resolving the current crisis”.
He said the UN was “taking the necessary measures to protect Sudanese employees and their families and is looking into all possible ways to support them.”
"We are committed to staying in Sudan and supporting the Sudanese people in every way we can. We will do everything we can to save lives while protecting the safety of our people."
Press Conference: The Humanitarian Situation in Sudan (20 April 2023)
This article first appeared in UN News.
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03 October 2022
UN-Habitat, UNHCR and partners launch the Peace Building Fund project on “Peacebuilding and Human Rights in Support of Durable Solutions for IDPs and Affected Communities: The Right to Adequate Housing in West Darfur”
West Darfur - UN-Habitat together with its partners UNHCR and the UN Peacebuilding Fund Secretariat (PBF) have launched the project: “Peacebuilding and Human Rights in Support of Durable Solutions for IDPs and Affected Communities: The Right to Adequate Housing in West Darfur”. The launch workshop, held at the University of El-Genaina Conference Hall, West Darfur, was attended by 58 participants, representing the State Ministry of Infrastructure and Urban Development, Nomads Commission, Voluntary Return Reintegration Commission, native administration, Land Registration authorities, HAC, local authorities, and local community representatives including internally displaced persons (IDPs).
The Right to Adequate Housing project will make a direct contribution to peacebuilding efforts through addressing key issues impeding the realization of human rights in West Darfur, which in turn contribute to the perpetuation of intercommunal violence and further inhibit the achievement of durable solutions.
The project will support the peaceful returns and resettlements of the IDPs in three key localities through the provision of resettlement spatial plans, creation of viable options and guiding principles for the voluntary and sustainable return, local integration, and/or relocation of IDPs. The project will enhance of access to effective mechanisms that clarify housing, land and property (HLP) rights in compliance with relevant international human rights standards, as well as support access to civil documentation. It will also contribute to self-reliance of IDPs, returnees, nomads, and non-displaced communities, particularly male and female youth, through capacity development on self-help reconstruction using an environmentally sensitive and affordable building materials (Interlocking Stabilized Soil Blocks: ISSB), which will inform the national and state housing policy framework. The project will also work to enhance social cohesion among different communities in support of durable solutions.
Mr. Ulan Shabynov, PBF Programme Coordinator, opened the workshop. He highlighted PBF focus areas for sustainable peace in Sudan with emphasis on Darfur, and the importance of the project to promote durable solutions and coexistence for IDPs and affected communities.
Mr. Abdulrahman Mustafa, a representative from UN-Habitat, in his opening remarks outlined UN-Habitat’s work in addressing the issue of conflict-induced recurrent displacement in Darfur, security of tenure, access to effective mechanisms that clarify HLP rights in compliance with international human rights standards, and capacity development on self-help reconstruction using ISSB.
Ms. Jacqueline Parlevliet, Representative of UNHCR, mentioned their roles and deep concerns around providing returnees protection and supporting access to obtaining proper civil documentation. Moreover Mr. Mohamed Habib, Assistant Protection Officer, provided an overview of the intended activities.
Mr. Younis Ishag, Directorate General, Ministry of Infrastructure and Urban Development, appreciated the long partnership between the Ministry and UN-Habitat in terms of capacity building of technical staff at state and locality level, and the provision of survey equipment during the previous years. He said, “The capacity development packages enhanced the performance of the institution to achieve tasks beyond expectations”.
Dr. Alawia Mukhtar, Women Representative of CBOs in West Darfur, mentioned that “the condition of gathering sites is tragic. We are asking the international community for rapid response to the basic needs of IDPs in 94 gathering locations, addressing issues of transitional justice and protection of civilians in West Darfur State.”
In three years, the project is intended to serve as a pilot to demonstrate an alternative way of addressing Housing, Land and Property (HLP) rights in support of voluntary and sustainable return, local integration, and/or relocation of IDPs.
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03 August 2022
From seeds to life - my visit to South Darfur
While looking across fields of abundance and imminent harvest, it is important to remember that they grew from tiny seeds that were planted and nurtured by their planters and rain, and, in South Darfur, protected from destruction to allow them to grow.
Having visited South Darfur together with UN senior officials on 1 August, the importance of the harvest cannot be understated. People’s livelihoods depend on agriculture and livestock production, with the main crops cultivated including sorghum, millet, groundnut, sesame and hibiscus. However, the combined effects of crises from the economic downturn, climate change (including erratic rains last year) and conflict are significantly affecting people’s access to food in Sudan: 22 per cent of the population in the state face food insecurity.
To counter this, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) received 12 million in funding from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support local food production in 14 states across Sudan, including in South Darfur, where 110,000 people are receiving support. This includes quality sorghum seeds to improve household grain production and strengthen resilience around food security and nutrition.
During my visit to South Darfur, I was able to see the distribution of seeds and talk to the communities that had received and planted them. I was also able to see the work being carried out by other UN agencies and humanitarian organizations to reduce the population’s vulnerability to food insecurity.
The community leaders with whom I spoke were very grateful for the seeds and the support they had received – they are expecting a good harvest – but they also uniformly told me that their main need now is for the protection of their crops. They also communicated that they would like even earlier support as well as crop-related equipment and maintenance.
I was particularly pleased to speak to women representatives about the importance of securing crops and their protection, who spoke of the need for training and capacity building for women in professions like agriculture.
A key challenge is tensions between farmers and herders regarding the use of grazing land. They need to share. In previous years - due mainly to climatic reasons - herders have moved earlier in the year from north to south in Darfur, which has caused disruptions to farming. This is why it is so important that Crop Protection Committees function across Darfur, where the different community representatives - including women - can discuss and agree on ways forward that are mutually beneficial to herders and farmers.
One step in the right direction has been the initial demarcation of migratory routes by the authorities in South Darfur, which allows farmers and herders to know where herders’ cattle will be grazed. However, more still needs to be done. Protection is key, especially for women who are exposed to the risk of Sexual and Gender Based Violence when going to their farms.
I was glad to be able to witness the transformational impact of the support provided by UN and humanitarian organizations, and I would like to thank our generous CERF donors for their vital contributions.
The seeds that were given to communities in South Darfur through humanitarian funds have the power to change the lives of tens of thousands, so never underestimate the power of planting a seed.
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31 May 2023
UN humanitarians complete first food distribution in Khartoum as hunger, threats to children, intensify
For the first time since fighting broke out in Sudan on 15 April, humanitarians have been able to reach desperate families trapped in the conflict’s epicentre, Khartoum, with food assistance, the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday.
WFP’s Country Director in Sudan, Eddie Rowe, told reporters in Geneva that in a major breakthrough, the agency distributed food assistance to 15,000 people in both Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) controlled areas of Omdurman, part of the Khartoum metropolitan area, beginning on Saturday.
Speaking from Port Sudan, Mr. Rowe highlighted other recent food distributions, in Wadi Halfa in Northern State to reach 8,000 people fleeing Khartoum and on their way to Egypt, as well as to 4,000 newly displaced people in Port Sudan.
Rapidly scaling up support
In total, WFP has been able to reach 725,000 people across 13 states in the country since it resumed its operations on 3 May, following a pause brought on by the killing of three aid workers at the start of the conflict.
Mr. Rowe said that WFP was rapidly scaling up its support, which they expected to expand depending on progress in negotiations for humanitarian access for all regions, including the Darfurs and Kordofans, strongly impacted by violence and displacement.
Hunger on the rise
In addition to the 16 million Sudanese who were already finding it “very difficult to afford a meal a day” before the fighting started, Mr. Rowe warned that the conflict compounded by the upcoming hunger season, could increase the food insecure population by about 2.5 million people in the coming months.
With the lean season fast approaching, WFP’s plan was to reach 5.9 million people across Sudan over the next six months, he said.
He stressed that WFP needed a total of $730 million to provide required assistance as well as telecommunications and logistics services to the humanitarian community, including all of the UN agencies operating in Sudan.
17,000 tonnes of food lost to looting
He also reiterated the humanitarian community’s call on all parties to the conflict to enable the safe delivery of urgently needed food aid, and deplored that so far, WFP had lost about 17,000 metric tonnes of food to widespread looting across the country, particularly in the Darfurs.
Just two days ago, he said, the agency’s main hub in El Obeid, North Kordofan, came under threat and looting of assets and vehicles was already confirmed.
Over 13 million children in need
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that “more children in Sudan today require lifesaving support than ever before”, with 13.6 million children in need of urgent assistance. “That’s more than the entire population of Sweden, of Portugal, of Rwanda,” UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told reporters in Geneva.
According to reports received by UNICEF, hundreds of girls and boys have been killed in the fighting. “While we are unable to confirm these due to the intensity of the violence, we also have reports that thousands of children have been maimed,” Mr. Elder said.
‘Death sentence’
He also pointed out that reports of children killed or injured are only those who had contact with a medical facility, meaning that the reality is “no doubt much worse” and compounded by a lack of access to life-saving services including nutrition, safe water, and healthcare.
Mr. Elder alerted that “all these factors combined, risk becoming a death sentence, especially for the most vulnerable”.
UNICEF called for funding to the tune of $838 million to address the crisis, an increase of $253 million since the current conflict began in April, to reach 10 million children. Mr. Elder stressed that only 5 per cent of the required amount had been received so far, and that without the therapeutic food and vaccines which this money would allow to secure, children would be dying.
Healthcare under attack
The dire situation of healthcare in the country has been aggravated by continuing attacks on medical facilities. From the start of the conflict on 15 till 25 May, the World Health Organization (WHO) verified 45 attacks on healthcare, which led to eight deaths and 18 injuries, the agency’s spokesperson Tarik Jašarević said.
He also cited reports of military occupation of hospitals and medical supplies warehouses, which made it impossible for people in need to access chronic disease medicines or malaria treatment. Mr. Jašarević recalled that attacks on healthcare are a violation of international humanitarian law and must stop.
Keep borders open: Grandi
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, concluded a three-day visit to Egypt on Tuesday, with an urgent call for support for people fleeing Sudan – and the countries hosting them – insisting that the borders must remain open.
More than 170,000 people have entered Egypt since the conflict started – many through Qoustul, a border crossing that Grandi visited close to the end of his trip. The country hosts around half of the more than 345,000 people who have recently fled Sudan.
Mr. Grandi met newly arrived refugees and Egyptian border officials, to get a sense of the hardships being endured.
Loss ‘on a huge scale’
“I heard harrowing experiences: loss of life and property on a huge scale,” Grandi said. “People spoke of risky and expensive journeys to arrive here to safety. Many families have been torn apart. They are traumatized and urgently need our protection and support.“
The UNHCR chief also held talks with the Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, and discussed how best to support refugees and mobilize resources for host countries, not least Egypt.
“I commend Egypt for its long-standing commitment to providing a safe haven to those fleeing violence,” Mr. Grandi said. “The Government, the Egyptian Red Cresent and the people, have been very generous in supporting arrivals. We urgently need to mobilize more resources to help them to maintain this generosity.”
Prior to this conflict, Egypt was already host to a large refugee population of 300,000 people from 55 different nationalities.
After registering with UNHCR, refugees and asylum-seekers have access to a wide range of services including health and education. UNHCR’s emergency cash assistance programme started during the last week.
This article first appeared in UN News.
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26 May 2023
Sudan: UN and partners scramble to supply aid amid fragile ceasefire
The UN and humanitarian partners are mobilizing to reach as many people as possible while the stuttering ceasefire between warring military factions is being respected, said the UN Spokesperson on Thursday.
Stéphane Dujarric told correspondents at the regular noon briefing that the opportunity to provide services and support to the millions of Sudanese who are suffering due to the six weeks of fighting between national army forces and their powerful rival militia, the RSF, was only feasible in areas where the ceasefire holds.
Relative calm has prevailed since the truce was reached between the feuding generals, in Jeddah, a week ago, but news reports suggest that flare ups in recent days are threating the continuation of the United States and Saudi-monitored ceasefire.
Aid trucks en route
“The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that some 20 trucks carrying supplies from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are now on their way to different parts of Sudan today”, he said.
Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) has reached more than 500,000 people in nine states with food and nutrition support since restarting distributions about three weeks ago.
“WFP is also planning distributions in Central Darfur and Northern State. Yesterday, trucks loaded with food aid arrived in Wadi Halfa, and today in Port Sudan, WFP started providing food to some 4,000 new arrivals”, Mr. Dujarric continued.
According to UN agencies, six newborn babies died at a hospital in the city of Eld’aeen in East Darfur in just one week, due to problems including lack of oxygen amid electricity blackouts.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said that more than 30 newborns have died at the hospital since the start of the fighting, Mr. Dujarric continued. WHO is in touch with healthcare providers to see what it can do to support, he said.
Half the population needs aid
An estimated 24.7 million people, or half the population, require urgent humanitarian assistance and protection, according to the UN’s top humanitarian official in the country, Abdou Dieng.
Mr. Dieng noted in a statement published late on Wednesday that this number had risen by 57 per cent since the beginning of the year.
He said that aid partners have provided food for over 500,000 people in the country since the beginning of May, in addition to supplying water, healthcare and hygiene support to hundreds of thousands of displaced people, whenever access was possible.
Mr. Dieng reiterated humanitarians are ready to deliver assistance to over four million in need and called on the relevant authorities to allow aid workers to move supplies “swiftly and safely”.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that more than two-thirds of hospitals are out of service because of fighting in Sudan, while in areas that did not see fighting, medical facilities are running low on supplies and staff, fuel, oxygen and blood bank services.
Rape, sexual violence
The UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, also highlighted her grave concern on Wednesday over multiple reports of sexual violence against women and girls, including allegations of rape, by combatants on both sides.
“I am very alarmed by emerging reports of sexual violence in different parts of Sudan and urge all parties to the conflict to comply with international human rights and humanitarian law, and in particular, to guarantee immediate and complete cessation of all violence against civilians, including sexual violence, as per their respective commitments” made in ceasefire terms.
She said it was “imperative that unfettered access to services is guaranteed by all parties”, calling on them to instantly “issue strict command orders that prohibit sexual violence, directed at their own forces as well as groups and individuals fighting on their side or under their command, and put in place mechanisms to adequately monitor the conduct of all armed elements they control”, she added.
This article first appeared in UN News.
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05 May 2023
Escaping Sudan: Home alone, with warplanes overhead
When fighting erupted in Sudan’s capital Khartoum, 25-year-old Arafa was at home alone with her two young children.
“I spent the night in fear, unable to go out of my house, as people were being killed everywhere,” she said, worrying about how she would protect her five-year-old son and three-year-old daughter.
Panicked by the sounds of shooting and warplanes flying overhead, she tried calling her husband at work, only to learn from friends that he had been shot dead.
No time to mourn
With no time to mourn and no clear plan, she fled Khartoum with her two young children in a desperate bid to escape. Setting out by bus, she arrived in Madani, a city 135 kilometres southeast of Khartoum, where a local man offered to help them leave the country.
Together with five others, they were driven to Port Sudan, the country’s main eastern seaport. From there they walked for a whole day before finding transport towards the Egyptian border.
“I was scared, tired, and without hope,” she said, noting that she spent 80 hours without food or water. “The road was difficult, and the continued sound of gunfire was deafening. I did not think we would make it. I was holding my children in my arms, fearing the war, the journey to asylum, and the long road ahead.”
Nowhere else to go
After crossing the border, they were eventually driven to Cairo and dropped off in a square in the unfamiliar city. With nowhere else to go, Arafa and her children spent the night on the street.
Arafa said that in the morning, a South Sudanese woman was passing by and saw her.
“She advised me to go to the office of UNHCR and register with them,” she said, adding that her family is now registered for assistance with the agency and is living with the kind South Sudanese woman.
‘We are together, with the refugees’
Like the other countries neighbouring Sudan that have been impacted by the conflict, Egypt already hosts a large refugee population.
With UNHCR operations in these countries already acutely underfunded, the refugee agency said increased support will be vital to respond to the humanitarian needs of those fleeing the violence.
That includes about 60,000 Khartoum residents that have fled the city for safety.
Randa Osman, an assistant field officer with UNHCR, provided an update from the Shagarab Refugee Camp in eastern Sudan.
“Despite the ongoing conflict, we are together, hand by hand, with the refugees, listening to them, and being with the people we serve in all situations in Sudan,” she said.
Amid airstrikes, armed attacks, and urban warfare, more than 100,000 Sudanese have already reportedly escaped into neighbouring countries, with their harrowing stories echoing the plight of tens of thousands of others who are frantically fleeing, since fierce fighting between rival military groups began on 15 April.
Devastating chaos
For Marwa, who was preparing breakfast for her 11-month-old son in their home near Khartoum airport on that morning, life changed in an instant. The humanitarian worker had planned on that Saturday to welcome home her husband from a trip ahead of Eid celebrations.
Instead, after days of devastating chaos, shooting, and violence, she wended through embattled streets to find a way to escape.
Grabbing a few belongings, including some medication and some clothes, she joined thousands of other families fleeing for safety.
Her journey from Khartoum to Egypt was a stressful, exhausting mix of heat, hunger, fear, sleepless nights, and mosquito bites, she said.
Now in a safe place, Marwa said she feels helpless, unable to help those who have remained behind.
“As a person working in the humanitarian field, it was very hard for me to see this situation but be unable to help,” she said. “My husband is still in Kassala, and we have no idea how we’ll be reunited. We’re still trying to work that out.”
Fleeing with nothing
“We fled Sudan for Chad,” said Halime Issakh Oumar, who is now a refugee. “We want to be safe. There is no security. We came with nothing, not even food or something to drink.”
The stories of Arafa, Marwa, and Halime mirror those of almost 21,000 Sudanese who sought refuge in neighbouring Chad. Another 10,000 Sudanese have fled to Central African Republic, and, as of Thursday, 47,000 have escaped to safety in Egypt, according UN reports.
In these countries as well as neighbouring Ethiopia and South Sudan, thousands of men, women, and children are arriving, some after perilous journeys, according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and other UN entities.
Assisting growing numbers of refugees
Africa’s second largest refugee-hosting country, Sudan hosts more than 1.14 million refugees. Before the onset of the conflict, more than 3.7 million people were internally displaced, and now, there are many more, UNHCR said.
As the warring military factions have repeatedly broken fragile ceasefire agreements, several UN agencies say the numbers of refugees will continue to grow.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is currently recording more than 1,000 daily arrivals in Ethiopia, where the majority – 39 per cent – are returning Ethiopians, and 17 per cent are Sudanese and third country nationals from more than 50 other countries.
Raghuveer Sharma, who moved to Sudan from India in 2021, had worked at a steel plant outside Khartoum at the outset of the conflict. For a full week, armed groups had entered the premises daily, looting and firing weapons indiscriminately, taking a hostage, and demanding vehicles and mobile phones, he told UN News.
“We made a plan that as soon as armed groups entered the guest house, we would not let them come inside,” he said. “As long as we had vehicles and mobile phones, our lives would be spared.”
Grateful for being evacuated, he said he hopes the situation in Sudan returns to normal soon.
A ‘perfect storm’
The UN estimates that as many as 270,000 Sudanese could end up crossing the seven international borders of the 48 million-strong nation – the third largest country in Africa.
UNHCR said on Thursday that the agency is expecting an outflow of 860,000 refugees and returnees from Sudan.
The World Food Programme (WFP) warned of “a perfect storm” in Chad, where the influx of refugees is unfolding weeks before the onset of the lean season between harvests, which is expected to leave an estimated 1.9 million people severely food insecure.
Pounding rains arriving about the same time, threaten to turn swathes of desert into rivers, imperiling deliveries of key food assistance to the refugees and other vulnerable groups, the agency said.
“It’s a perfect storm,” said Pierre Honnorat, WFP Country Director and Representative in Chad. “The lean season coming in June, and the rainy season that will cut off all those regions.”
Everything lost ‘in the blink of an eye’
The Sudanese people’s stories paint a somber picture of how conflict can instantaneously shatter lives.
A 16-year-old Sudanese girl had made it across the Chadian border to safety.
“I would love to go back to my country,” she said, “but only if we are safe there.”
While many have managed to escape the fighting and reach safety, Arafa said her own family’s future feels far from secure.
“I can’t believe I am here in Egypt now, but I am still afraid of everything,” Arafa said. “I need help. I am afraid of the future. I lost my home, my husband, and my country in the blink of an eye. I don’t want to lose my children too. I want them to be safe.”
UN in action
Across the border towns lacing Sudan, UN agencies are working to help those in need. Here is a snapshot of some of what is happening on the ground:
In Chad and Sudan, UN agencies are bringing in more than 70,000 core relief items from its global stockpiles.
In Egypt, the UN is conducting an assessment mission on the needs of people fleeing Sudan.
The UN and the Egyptian Red Crescent are delivering water, food, wheelchairs, and hygiene and sanitary kits to new arrivals.
A social media account and website run by UNHCR offers up-to-date information for refugees in Egypt.
UNHCR launched a preliminary inter-agency regional refugee response plan on Thursday to address urgent financial needs as soon as possible, which requires $445 million to support the displaced until October.
At border crossings, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) provides families with essential items and medical services.
IOM is providing such support services as transportation and accommodation to refugees and returnees at border areas, where the agency has set up transit centres.
The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) continues to support partners to provide life-saving health care, distribute supplies for safe births, and to manage obstetric emergencies through a network of midwives.
WFP provides assistance in the region, and it is urgently appealing for emergency funding, including at least $145.6 million to continue supporting newly arrived and existing refugees in Chad, along with host communities.
This article first appeared in UN News.
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Story
05 May 2023
UN and partners launch $445 million plan to ease Sudan crisis
With 860,000 people projected to flee the fighting in Sudan for neighbouring countries, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and partners on Thursday appealed for $445 million to assist the displaced through October.
The updates were made in a preliminary summary of the Regional Response Plan for Sudan, that was presented to donors in Geneva.
The funding will cover immediate support in Chad, South Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic. A more detailed plan will be launched next week.
More help needed
Raouf Mazou, UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, pointed to the “tragic” humanitarian situation that has emerged in Sudan since fighting between rival military forces broke out nearly three weeks ago, killing more than 500 people.
The dire conditions include food, water and fuel shortages, as well as limited access to transport, communications and electricity. Access to healthcare has also been critically impacted, ongoing insecurity has prevented people from leaving dangerous areas, and the cost of basic items has skyrocketed.
UNHCR has been coordinating contingency planning with partners for new arrivals to countries bordering Sudan. The crisis has uprooted Sudanese citizens but also refugees who are now returning to their homelands, and other nationals.
“UNHCR and partners have emergency teams in place and are assisting authorities with technical support, registering arrivals, carrying out protection monitoring and strengthening reception to ensure urgent needs are met,” Mr. Mazou said. “This is just a start. More help is urgently needed.”
Refugees and returnees
The Regional Response Plan was drawn up by UNHCR together with 134 partners, including sister UN agencies, national and international non-governmental organizations, and civil society groups.
The 860,000 preliminary projection anticipates that some 580,000 people would be Sudanese; 235,000 returned refugees previously hosted by Sudan, leaving amid adverse conditions, and 45,000 refugees of other nationalities. Most arrivals are expected to flock to Egypt and South Sudan.
The fighting has already displaced over 330,000 people inside Sudan and forced over 100,000 to leave. UNHCR has also launched a data portal that will update daily refugee and returnee arrivals in neighbouring countries.
Whole region at risk
The Regional Response Plan will support host countries to ensure access to asylum, life-saving humanitarian assistance, and specialized services for the most vulnerable.
Like Sudan, most of the receiving nations were already hosting large numbers of forcibly displaced people, and operations were already perennially underfunded.
Mr. Mazou stressed the need for greater support now, warning of the potential wide-reaching consequences.
“We urgently need timely, new funding to respond to the mounting needs,” he said. “The needs are vast, and the challenges are numerous. If the crisis continues, peace and stability across the region could be at stake.”
Thousands at Ethiopia border town
Meanwhile, over 12,000 people have arrived at the remote Ethiopian border town of Metema since the fighting started on 15 April, the UN migration agency, IOM, reported on Thursday.
They include Sudanese citizens, returning Ethiopians and nationals from Türkiye, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya and more than 50 other countries.
Many are exhausted from the long and dangerous journey to safety.
IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) is currently recording over 1,000 daily arrivals in Metema. Many of these people enter Ethiopia without resources and belongings, leaving them vulnerable to being stranded.
IOM is assisting the arrivals, including those from countries whose embassies have requested support for their citizens.
Nearly 200 Kenyans, some of them students, over 200 Ugandans and more than 800 Somalis are among those who have been helped so far.
A Tanzanian family was also able to receive urgent medical attention and eventually return home with the assistance of their embassy in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa.
'Pregnancies don’t stop'
Back in Sudan, courageous midwives continue to bring new life into the world, amidst the heavy shelling and insecurity.
"As supplies and services grind to a halt, pregnancies don’t stop," UN reproductive health agency, UNFPA, noted on Thursday.
UNFPA has trained some 90 community midwives who are helping pregnant women deliver safely, mainly at home, in the capital Khartoum.
“We are working all day every day across three hospitals. For women and girls who don’t have means of transportation, we go to their homes to ensure they give birth safely,” said Insaf, a midwife currently working in Om Badda, a western district in the city.
A life-threatening situation
Some 61 per cent of health facilities in Khartoum are closed, and only 16 per cent are operating as normal, affecting millions.
Dozens of attacks on hospitals, healthcare staff and ambulances, alongside widespread looting of already scarce medical supplies, water, fuel, and electricity, are pushing the health sector to the brink of collapse, UNFPA said.
The situation could prove life threatening for the estimated 219,000 pregnant women and girls in Khartoum alone because they cannot access essential health services, such as antenatal care, or deliver their babies in safety.
UNFPA stressed that access to midwives is the single most important factor in stopping preventable maternal and newborn deaths. Some 24,000 women are expected to give birth in the coming weeks.
“We have a severe lack of supplies in Khartoum, especially oxytocin and umbilical clips. Although services continue for the time being, we are praying for more supplies to arrive soon,” said Jamila, a midwife working in a UNFPA-supported health centre.
Meanwhile, blood, oxygen and other medical necessities, such as fuel for ambulances, are also running dangerously low.
Healthcare under fire
The World Health Organization (WHO) verified further assaults to the health system, such as looting, obstruction of access, violent attacks, and the forced occupation of facilities, the UN reported on Thursday.
Overall, 28 incidents have been verified, leading to eight deaths and 18 injuries among personnel working in the sector.
The UN and partners also continue to deliver humanitarian assistance to people in Sudan, wherever and whenever feasible.
Following a temporary pause, the World Food Programme (WFP) resumed its lifesaving operations on Wednesday, and a first set of distributions is underway to reach 22,000 people in Gedaref state.
Children caught in the crossfire
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has voiced its ongoing concern for boys and girls affected by the crisis. Some 190 children reportedly have been killed and another 1,700 injured.
“The situation in Sudan is teetering toward catastrophe, and children are increasingly caught in the crossfire,” Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement on Thursday.
“For the sake of Sudan’s children, the violence must stop.”
Ms. Russell added that attacks on the humanitarian sector are affecting her agency’s work to deliver lifesaving health, nutrition, water and sanitation services to children across the country.
Aid workers have come under fire, while humanitarian facilities and supplies – including those belonging to UNICEF – have been looted or destroyed.
“UNICEF also calls for a long-term political solution to the crisis, so that Sudan’s children can grow up in an environment of peace and look ahead to a more hopeful future,” Ms. Russell said.
This article first appeared in UN News.
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04 May 2023
Sudan: ‘Secure and immediate access’ needed for lifesaving aid, urges Guterres
Fighting in Sudan must stop now before the conflict and the spreading humanitarian catastrophe further ravage the country, and the region, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday.
António Guterres was speaking to journalists in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, where he will be chairing a meeting of chief executives from across the whole UN system.
Since violence erupted in Sudan on 15 April, more than 334,000 have likely been uprooted and more 100,000 people have fled to neighbouring countries, according to UN aid coordination office, OCHA.
Hostilities between the rival militaries of the Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have raged for nearly three weeks, despite repeated announcements and failed extensions of ceasefires between the two sides.
Latest UN figures show at least 528 have died during the fighting, with nearly 4,600 injured, though many more are thought to have perished due to the disruptions in critical services, including healthcare.
Peace, and civilian rule
“All parties must put the interests of the Sudanese people first”, said the UN chief, “and that means peace and a return to civilian rule, allowing for the development of the country.
“We are putting these goals front and centre as we engage with the parties to the conflict, and work hand-in-hand with the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (the regional body, IGAD).”
Mr. Guterres reiterated that the Sudanese people were “facing a humanitarian catastrophe”, while millions now face food insecurity.
He said the UN was “ready to deliver”, under the leadership of his Special Representative - and head of UN mission in Sudan, UNITAMS – Volker Perthes.
“Aid must be allowed into Sudan, and we need secure and immediate access to be able to distribute it to people who need it most”, he said.
Relief chief calls for safe passage agreements
Top UN humanitarian official Martin Griffiths on Wednesday urged Sudan’s warring parties to commit to the safe passage of relief supplies, as terrified civilians continue to flee the country.
He arrived just hours ago in the UN aid hub of Port Sudan, on Sudan’s Red Sea coast.
“We can and should get assistance to the different parts of Darfur, to Khartoum. …and the agency representatives I met here this morning are unanimous about that. But to do that, we need access, we need airlifts, we need supplies that don’t get looted,” said emergency relief chief Griffiths.
Looting fears
Speaking from Port Sudan, Mr. Griffiths noted that the UN World Food Programme (WFP) had reported that six trucks heading to Darfur had been looted on Wednesday “despite assurances of safety and security”, amid the ongoing power struggle.
To help the most vulnerable communities in Sudan and to prevent further looting of relief supplies, Mr. Griffiths insisted on the need “to be sure that we have the commitments publicly and clearly given by the two militaries to protect humanitarian assistance, to deliver on the obligations to allow supplies of people to move”.
This commitment should apply even without a formal national ceasefire in place, he continued, by means of local arrangements “that can be depended on”.
Desperate health needs
Highlighting the scale of need in areas affected by heavy shooting and airstrikes, the UN relief chief reiterated that restoring medical assistance topped the list of priorities in the capital, Khartoum, where more than six in 10 health facilities are closed, and only around one in seven is operating normally.
“Many patients with chronic diseases, like kidney disease, diabetes and cancer, are unable to access the health facilities or medicines they need,” OCHA reported.
Providing safe water also remains a vital priority, to encourage communities to stay where they were so that they can receive help. “We have a plan for how we get supplies to these places” across the country including Darfur, Mr. Griffiths said. “We know how we can do this, and we will start doing it.”
UN supporting young Sudanese women, amid mounting threats
Rainy season deadline
Humanitarians fear that unless such aid guarantees from the warring sides are secured, the situation in Sudan could deteriorate further.
“(The UN Food and Agriculture Organization) FAO and the UN World Food Programme, talked to me today about the importance of getting food and seeds into places which are going to be hard to reach because of the rainy season that’s coming in June, and with the planting season, which is also coming from May to July,” Mr. Griffiths said.
“We will still require agreements and arrangements to allow for movement of staff and supplies…. It’s a volatile environment”, he said.
“I think you will find if we have good funding that we will be able to do exactly what the people of Sudan require us to do and are entitled to see us do.”
'We must act now': IOM chief
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the head of the UN migration agency (IOM) António Vitorino, said the world "cannot turn a blind eye" to the crisis in Sudan.
It is imperative that we - as UN agencies, donors, individuals, as well as governments – collectively act and support the people of Sudan and neighboring countries."
He commended all those nations keeping their borders open to those fleeing violence, calling for increased efforts to improve the conditions at border points, to allow more aid to flow.
Mr. Vitorino added that IOM was working with partners on an interagency and coordinated response plan and appeal, to scale up lifesaving aid. So far, there are six warehouses with supplies across five states inside Sudan, and more than 10,000 prepositioned core relief kits.
This article first appeared in UN News.
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Press Release
13 September 2023
Statement by the Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami
(Port Sudan): I am appalled by the killing of dozens of civilians in an attack on a crowded market in southern Khartoum on Sunday, 10 September 2023. Scores more were injured, many of them critically. This incident is just the latest example of the daily horrors that civilians in Sudan continue to face, especially in highly populated areas.
Four months ago, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) signed the Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan. The very first commitment outlined in that document reads: “We agree that the interests and well-being of the Sudanese people are our top priority and affirm our commitment to ensure that civilians are protected at all times.”
The ongoing killing of civilians in Khartoum, Nyala, Al Fasher and other areas underscores the fact that the parties to this conflict are not honouring the pledges they signed up to on 11 May or the fundamental rules of international law underpinning them. This includes the obligation to take all feasible precautions to avoid and minimize civilian harm and refrain from any disproportionate attack.
I call on the SAF, RSF and all armed actors participating in the armed conflict to respect international humanitarian law and take immediate steps to safeguard civilians. The people of Sudan have suffered far too much already. ----- For further information, please contact: Erich Opolot Ogoso, ogoso@un.org, +254 720 766587
Four months ago, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) signed the Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan. The very first commitment outlined in that document reads: “We agree that the interests and well-being of the Sudanese people are our top priority and affirm our commitment to ensure that civilians are protected at all times.”
The ongoing killing of civilians in Khartoum, Nyala, Al Fasher and other areas underscores the fact that the parties to this conflict are not honouring the pledges they signed up to on 11 May or the fundamental rules of international law underpinning them. This includes the obligation to take all feasible precautions to avoid and minimize civilian harm and refrain from any disproportionate attack.
I call on the SAF, RSF and all armed actors participating in the armed conflict to respect international humanitarian law and take immediate steps to safeguard civilians. The people of Sudan have suffered far too much already. ----- For further information, please contact: Erich Opolot Ogoso, ogoso@un.org, +254 720 766587
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Press Release
12 September 2023
FAO launches emergency response plan to protect and restore agricultural livelihoods amid conflict
Rome - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched an Emergency Livelihood Response Plan to address growing food insecurity in Sudan, providing communities with emergency seeds and livestock treatment kits, as well as veterinary and fisheries support and equipment.
The Plan builds on FAO’s work to address extreme vulnerabilities triggered by the ongoing conflict on small-scale farming, herding and fishing communities. It complements FAO’s recently completed emergency seed distribution campaign. That initiative helped farmers maximize cereal production, avoid depletion of assets and promote seed diversification. The expected production will contribute to meet the cereal needs of at least 13 million and up to 19 million people for the upcoming 2023 harvest.
“Millions of people across the Sudan are facing a battle for survival as the food security crisis worsens”, said Hongjie Yang, FAO Representative in the Sudan. “This emergency response plan aims to provide farming, herding and fishing families with the basics they need to keep production going and feed themselves and their communities.”
Seeds, animals and livestock vaccination campaigns
Under the plan, to support a total of 10.1 million people, households most in need will receive certified quality seeds – cowpea, groundnut, millet, okra and sorghum for the 2024 summer season, and chickpea, cucumber, pigeon pea, tomato and watermelon for the 2023 winter season. They will also receive training to adopt good agricultural practices, such as better handling of farm commodities after harvest.
Vulnerable people who have lost productive assets will be supported through the restocking of animals. This will result in immediate improvements to food security and nutrition, enabling herders to produce 4 to5 litres of milk/day.
Crucially, in a context of conflict, FAO’s plan will support the implementation of mass vaccination campaigns to protect 6 million sheep, goats and cattle against the most prevalent and devastating diseases, including peste des petits ruminants, sheep and goat pox and foot-and-mouth disease.
FAO also aims to assist 50 000 people (10 000 fishing households) with fishing inputs (such as fishing boats and gear) and related training, to ensure steady access to high-protein, quality foods and maintain functional local economies.
Much of the support to most vulnerable farming and livestock herding households will be delivered using a combination of unconditional cash assistance and livelihood input packages (seeds, tools, etc.) combined with training. This will help address the fact that during the dry season, spanning from November to May, farmers practicing rainfed agriculture face a “hunger gap”, while herding communities struggle with water scarcity, diminishing pastures and weakened animal health, leading to economic strain and a decrease in food consumption patterns.
Funding needs for implementation
In order to implement the plan over the next 12 months and reach the targeted farmers, herders and fishers in 17 of the Sudan’s most food-insecure states, FAO will require $123 million.
FAO last month warned about the severity of the escalating food crisis in the Sudan. According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase (IPC) projections, over 20.3 million people, representing more than 42 percent of the population in the country, are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above) between July and September 2023, nearly double the figure from May 2022. Nearly 14 million people are facing Crisis (IPC Phase 3) and nearly 6.3 million people facing Emergency (IPC Phase 4) levels of acute hunger. More information on the IPC hunger classification system can be found here.
The ongoing violence has resulted in the displacement of over 3.8 million people across the country and forced more than 960 000 individuals to seek refuge in neighboring countries.
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Press Release
25 August 2023
War and hunger could destroy Sudan
(New York): The war in Sudan is fueling a humanitarian emergency of epic proportions. This viral conflict – and the hunger, disease and displacement left in its wake – now threatens to consume the entire country.
The intense fighting that has ravaged the capital Khartoum and Darfur since mid-April has spread to Kordofan. In South Kordofan’s capital, Kadugli, food stocks have been fully depleted, as clashes and road blockages prevent aid workers from reaching the hungry. In West Kordofan’s capital, El Fula, humanitarian offices have been ransacked and supplies looted. I am also extremely worried about the safety of civilians in Al Jazira State, as the conflict moves closer to Sudan’s breadbasket.
The longer the fighting continues, the more devastating its impact. Some places have already run out of food. Hundreds of thousands of children are severely malnourished and at imminent risk of death if left untreated.
Vector-borne diseases are spreading, posing a lethal risk, especially to those already weakened by malnutrition. Cases of measles, malaria, whooping cough, dengue fever, and acute watery diarrhoea are being reported across the country. Most people have no access to medical treatment. The conflict has decimated the health care sector, with most hospitals out of service.
Millions of people have been displaced inside Sudan. Nearly one million others have fled across its borders. As more refugees arrive in neighbouring countries, host communities are struggling. A protracted conflict in Sudan could tip the entire region into a humanitarian catastrophe.
A long conflict will almost certainly lead to a lost generation of children as millions miss out on education, endure trauma, and bear the physical and psychological scars of war. Reports that some children in Sudan are being used in the fighting are deeply disturbing.
It is well past time for all those fighting in this conflict to put the people of Sudan above the pursuit of power or resources. Humanity must prevail. Civilians need life-saving assistance now; humanitarians need access and funding to deliver it. The international community needs to respond with the urgency this crisis deserves.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Jens Laerke, laerke@un.org, +41 79 472 9750
OCHA press releases are available at www.unocha.org or www.reliefweb.int
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Press Release
25 August 2023
More than two million children displaced by brutal conflict in Sudan as violence spreads to new areas
PORT SUDAN – At least two million children have been forced from their homes since the conflict in Sudan erupted four months ago – an average of more than 700 children newly displaced every hour. As violence continues to ravage the country, over 1.7 million children are estimated to be on the move within Sudan’s borders and more than 470,000 have crossed into neighbouring countries.
“With over two million children uprooted by the conflict in only a few months, and countless more trapped in its merciless grip, the urgency of our collective response cannot be overstated,” said Mandeep O’Brien, UNICEF Country Representative in Sudan. “We are hearing unimaginable stories from children and families, some of whom lost everything and had to watch their loved ones die in front of their eyes. We said it before, and we are saying it again: we need peace now for children to survive.
At present, close to 14 million children are in urgent need of humanitarian support, many facing multiple threats and terrifying experiences every single day. Apart from conflict hotspots like Darfur and Khartoum, the heavy fighting has now spread to other populated areas, including in South and West Kordofan, limiting the delivery and access of lifesaving services to those in urgent need.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification in Sudan (IPC) report estimates that 20.3 million people will be food insecure between July and September 2023 and expected to further exacerbate close to 10 million children’s health and nutrition status.
With the beginning of the rainy season, many houses have been destroyed by floods resulting in more families fleeing their areas. Moreover, the risk of disease outbreaks such as cholera, dengue, Rift Valley Fever and chikungunya, is significantly higher during the rainy period. Currently, more than 9.4 million children lack access to safe drinking water in Sudan and 3.4 million children under 5 are at high risk of diarrheal diseases and cholera.
Violence continues to obstruct the delivery of health and nutrition services, putting millions of children at risk. In Khartoum, the Darfur and Kordofan regions, fewer than one-third of health facilities are fully functional. Insecurity and displacement are also preventing patients and health workers from reaching hospitals, with many facilities being reportedly attacked and destroyed.
Health systems in the other 11 states are overwhelmed due to the massive displacement of populations from hotspots to these less-affected states. According to UNICEF sources, all states in Sudan are reporting severe shortage and stockout of medicines and supplies, including life-saving items.
In areas with high internal displacement and health systems stretched, such as the Blue and White Nile States, disease outbreaks, including measles, are resurfacing with reported associated deaths. The lethal combination of measles and malnutrition is putting lives of children at a very high risk if urgent action is not taken. As conflict continues to ravage the country, almost 700,000 children with severe acute malnutrition are at high risk of not surviving without treatment, 1.7 million babies risk missing critical lifesaving vaccinations, and an entire generation of children will likely miss out on education. Millions of boys and girls will also lack safety and psychosocial well-being. Over the last four months UNICEF has been providing health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), education and protection services to over 4 million children, mothers, and families across Sudan. In the next 100 days, UNICEF urgently needs US$400 million to sustain and scale its crisis response to support the most vulnerable children. UNICEF continues to call on all parties involved in the conflict to prioritize the safety and well-being of children, ensure their protection, and enable unimpeded humanitarian access to affected areas. Lifesaving humanitarian support must be provided without delay to protect and safeguard the rights of millions of vulnerable children. ##### Media contacts Ammar Ammar Regional Chief of Communication and Advocacy UNICEF Amman Tel: +962 7 91837388 Email: aammar@unicef.org Ricardo Pires UNICEF New York Tel: +1 917 631 1226 Email: rpires@unicef.org
In areas with high internal displacement and health systems stretched, such as the Blue and White Nile States, disease outbreaks, including measles, are resurfacing with reported associated deaths. The lethal combination of measles and malnutrition is putting lives of children at a very high risk if urgent action is not taken. As conflict continues to ravage the country, almost 700,000 children with severe acute malnutrition are at high risk of not surviving without treatment, 1.7 million babies risk missing critical lifesaving vaccinations, and an entire generation of children will likely miss out on education. Millions of boys and girls will also lack safety and psychosocial well-being. Over the last four months UNICEF has been providing health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), education and protection services to over 4 million children, mothers, and families across Sudan. In the next 100 days, UNICEF urgently needs US$400 million to sustain and scale its crisis response to support the most vulnerable children. UNICEF continues to call on all parties involved in the conflict to prioritize the safety and well-being of children, ensure their protection, and enable unimpeded humanitarian access to affected areas. Lifesaving humanitarian support must be provided without delay to protect and safeguard the rights of millions of vulnerable children. ##### Media contacts Ammar Ammar Regional Chief of Communication and Advocacy UNICEF Amman Tel: +962 7 91837388 Email: aammar@unicef.org Ricardo Pires UNICEF New York Tel: +1 917 631 1226 Email: rpires@unicef.org
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Press Release
18 August 2023
Statement by Eddie Rowe, Humanitarian Coordinator a.i. in Sudan on World Humanitarian Day 2023
Port Sudan - Since conflict erupted across Sudan in mid-April, the country has become one of the world’s most dangerous and difficult places for humanitarians to work, with 19 aid workers killed in 17 attacks this year alone. Ahead of World Humanitarian Day on 19 August, we mourn the loss of our beloved colleagues, call for perpetrators of attacks on aid workers and assistance to be held accountable, and once again remind parties to the conflict that humanitarians and the aid they deliver should never be a target.
The fighting that erupted in Sudan on 15 April immediately led to tragic consequences for the humanitarian community: That very day, three United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) staff who had been out in the field delivering emergency cash assistance were killed in Kebkabiya, North Darfur. Two other WFP employees were injured alongside them. And in the violent weeks that followed, humanitarians – all of them Sudanese – continued to lose their lives in the line of duty.
Their deaths are yet another sign that Sudan is being pulled back into one of the grimmest chapters in its history. Not since the height of the Darfur conflict between 2003 and 2006 has Sudan seen so many fatal attacks on aid workers. Humanitarian facilities have also been repeatedly attacked, with at least 53 warehouses looted, 87 offices ransacked, and 208 vehicles stolen as of 13 August.
International law is clear: The targeting of humanitarians is against the rules of war. Aid workers are neutral and impartial in conflict. Their role is to relieve the suffering of people caught up in crisis. Their safety – and that of the civilians they serve – must be guaranteed.
As the fighting in Sudan continues, humanitarians in the country remain committed to doing all we can to deliver life-saving assistance to millions of people in need, despite the challenges. We will continue to support local responders who are working tirelessly to provide food, water, shelter, education, health care and other essential services to their neighbours.
We will also continue to remind the parties to the conflict of their obligations under international humanitarian law, enshrined in the Declaration of Commitments signed in Jeddah on 11 May. They agreed then to protect the civilians of Sudan and to protect humanitarian personnel and assets. They affirmed that it is prohibited to attack, harass, intimidate, or arbitrarily detain personnel, or to attack, destroy, misappropriate, or loot relief supplies, installations, material, units, or vehicles. They must honour this commitment.
This World Humanitarian Day, we honour those who have fallen and the dedicated aid workers who continue to put their lives at risk every day to serve people in need. We continue to urge all parties to the conflict in Sudan to facilitate humanitarian action and to protect those who deliver it.
For further information, please contact:
Amanda Price, amanda.price@un.org, +1 917 853 2839
Leni Kinzli, leni.kinzli@wfp.org, +1 917 242 8707
The fighting that erupted in Sudan on 15 April immediately led to tragic consequences for the humanitarian community: That very day, three United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) staff who had been out in the field delivering emergency cash assistance were killed in Kebkabiya, North Darfur. Two other WFP employees were injured alongside them. And in the violent weeks that followed, humanitarians – all of them Sudanese – continued to lose their lives in the line of duty.
Their deaths are yet another sign that Sudan is being pulled back into one of the grimmest chapters in its history. Not since the height of the Darfur conflict between 2003 and 2006 has Sudan seen so many fatal attacks on aid workers. Humanitarian facilities have also been repeatedly attacked, with at least 53 warehouses looted, 87 offices ransacked, and 208 vehicles stolen as of 13 August.
International law is clear: The targeting of humanitarians is against the rules of war. Aid workers are neutral and impartial in conflict. Their role is to relieve the suffering of people caught up in crisis. Their safety – and that of the civilians they serve – must be guaranteed.
As the fighting in Sudan continues, humanitarians in the country remain committed to doing all we can to deliver life-saving assistance to millions of people in need, despite the challenges. We will continue to support local responders who are working tirelessly to provide food, water, shelter, education, health care and other essential services to their neighbours.
We will also continue to remind the parties to the conflict of their obligations under international humanitarian law, enshrined in the Declaration of Commitments signed in Jeddah on 11 May. They agreed then to protect the civilians of Sudan and to protect humanitarian personnel and assets. They affirmed that it is prohibited to attack, harass, intimidate, or arbitrarily detain personnel, or to attack, destroy, misappropriate, or loot relief supplies, installations, material, units, or vehicles. They must honour this commitment.
This World Humanitarian Day, we honour those who have fallen and the dedicated aid workers who continue to put their lives at risk every day to serve people in need. We continue to urge all parties to the conflict in Sudan to facilitate humanitarian action and to protect those who deliver it.
For further information, please contact:
Amanda Price, amanda.price@un.org, +1 917 853 2839
Leni Kinzli, leni.kinzli@wfp.org, +1 917 242 8707
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