UN appeal seeks US$2.56B for humanitarian needs in Sudan

GENEVA (AN) — The United Nations asked for US$2.56 billion in humanitarian aid for 18 million people in Sudan whose lives have been overturned by rival generals fighting for control of the nation.

The fighting that broke out last month caused the ranks of those who need humanitarian aid and protection to swell to 24.6 million, or slightly more than half of Sudan's 49 million, according to a new 12-page funding appeal on Wednesday from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA.

"This conflict is a cruel blow for the people of Sudan, already staggering under the weight of a desperate humanitarian situation. The desire, willingness and impatience of humanitarian agencies to deliver remains as strong as ever," said OCHA chief Martin Griffiths, United Nations' undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

Griffiths welcomed an agreement signed last week by Sudan's warring parties pledging to protect civilians, allow humanitarian assistance to flow – including the restoration of water, electrical power and other basic services – and withdraw their security forces from hospitals.

"The signing of the Declaration of Commitment was a welcome first step towards protecting civilians and delivering aid safely," he said. "But now we need the generosity of the international community to scale up our response and reach all those in need."

Access for humanitarian workers in Sudan has been difficult, causing disruptions. And while there are 24.6 million people in Sudan who need humanitarian assistance, OCHA says, the funding appeal targets the 18 million people who are the most urgently in need.

"This includes civilians in urban settings who continue to be exposed to indiscriminate violence, explosive weapons and other violations, those living in areas already impacted by years of fighting, many of them women, children and people with disabilities," Ramesh Rajasingham, head of OCHA in Geneva and director of the Coordination Division, said at a conference to launch the appeal.

Trapped at home

The figures are an upward revision from the 15.8 million people overall who needed assistance as of December, including 12.5 million people considered the most needy, when OCHA and its 92 international partners – most of them Sudanese organizations – sought US$1.75 billion.

Duaa Tariq, a human rights activist and artist, told the conference by a video link that the fighting trapped her at home in Khartoum during the first week, and it took a few weeks after that for her community to gain the ability to communicate and organize itself.

"We were running out of food in my house. I was trapped here with my pregnant sister and my 2-year-old nephew," said Tariq.

"It was very difficult for us to leave the house, especially – the soldiers were everywhere," she said. "We were hearing the shooting and the bombing. And we see the airplane from the windows. And it was very intimidating and scary."

Sudan's 'limited resources'

The conflict between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, has displaced hundreds of thousands of people inside Sudan and forced hundreds of thousands more to flee to neighbouring countries.

Sudan is now host to one of the largest displaced populations in Africa. It has more than 3.7 million internally displaced people and over 1.1 million refugees from Central African Republic, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Sudan's U.N. Ambassador Hassan Hamid Hassan described the humanitarian crisis as unprecedented, and blamed it on the RSF's "rebellion" against the government.

"The estimation of the critical immediate humanitarian needs are beyond the capabilities and the limited resources of the state, even before the eruption of the unfolding military confrontations and the destruction of the public facilities," he said.

The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, appealed for another US$470.4 million that it said is needed by 140 operational partners to help 1.1 million people fleeing the crisis.

"The scale and magnitude of displacement within Sudan and into neighboring countries has continued to increase since the conflict erupted in mid-April," said Raouf Mazou, UNHCR'S assistant high commissioner for operations. "The current humanitarian situation in Sudan is dire."