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Press Release
25 August 2024
Readout of the UN Secretary-General's phone call with First Lieutenant General Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan Abdelrahman Al-Burhan, President of the Transitional Sovereign Council of the Republic of the Sudan
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Press Release
19 August 2024
Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan calls for protection of civilians and aid workers, and end impunity
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Press Release
18 August 2024
WFP welcomes Adre Border opening as the food agency races to save lives in war-torn 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:
Publication
21 July 2024
United Nations in Sudan Annual Report 2023
This report focuses on 2023, another challenging year for Sudan as political crises escalated and remained unresolved. As of April 2024, one year into the devastating country-wide conflict, half of Sudan’s population, 25 million people, are in need of humanitarian assistance. Additionally, 8.6 million people are displaced inside and outside Sudan, and over 14,000 women, men, and children have reportedly been killed.The United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in Sudan responded to the outbreak of violence in April 2023 by relocating many programmes and agencies to Port Sudan. We quickly adjusted programmatic and funding priorities to open new offices and warehouses to meet the most immediate needs in an ever-changing and worsening situation. The need for shelter, food, water, sanitation, protection, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) prevention, trauma care and other assistance continues to increase throughout the country.In 2024, UN partners appealed for US$4.1 billion through the 2024 Sudan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan and the 2024 Sudan Refuge Response Plan to address the most urgent humanitarian needs in Sudan and neighbouring countries hosting large populations of Sudanese refugees. This represents a significant increase from the 2023 appeal of $2.56 billion which was the largest appeal for the country at the time, highlighting the severity of the situation on the ground.Insecurity and looting of partners’ assets and supplies have challenged the humanitarian response, as have floods and other destruction of infrastructure. Nonetheless, several key achievements were realized through UN programmes and interventions, including: 15.4 million children screened for malnutrition; 8.5 million children under-five vaccinated against polio; 6.2 million people benefitted from food assistance; 313,400 children received lifesaving malnutrition treatment; nearly 200,000 children and women accessed GBV risk mitigation, prevention, or response interventions; over 150,000 people learned about mine and UXO risk and peacebuilding; nine human rights forums organized; and the Darfur Permanent Ceasefire Committee established and operationalized.I thank our partners and the dedicated UN staff in Sudan and elsewhere for their dedication, commitment and contributions amidst this challenging environment. The UN is committed to continuing and expanding our lifesaving work, with a focus on returning to political negotiations and alleviating human suffering.Clementine Nkweta-SalamiDeputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan
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Story
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
09 December 2023
Sudanese women advocate for peace at conference in Uganda
We must work together to formulate a clear vision to achieve the aspirations of the Sudanese people, bringing back security, peace, and the establishment of a civil state where all citizens are equal, and opportunities are provided regardless of their gender, ethnic, religious, or tribal backgrounds.
Those are the words of Samia Argawi, a lawyer and founder of “Women Against War” and member of the “Peace for Sudan Platform”, a peacebuilding initiative by Sudanese women-led organizations and initiatives supported by UN Women.
Since fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces broke out on 15 April 2023, hundreds of people have been killed and thousands injured. UN reports have found that gender-based violence has increased during the conflict, and the humanitarian situation has significantly worsened, with food prices peaking and limited access to water and electricity.
The Peace for Sudan Platform comprises more than 49 women-led peace initiatives, humanitarian initiatives, and civil society organizations, featuring representatives from across the different regions of the country.
Soon after fighting broke out, UN Women and partners including the African Union, the African Women Leaders Network, at the request of the Peace for Sudan Platform, organized a virtual high-level solidarity mission to support and amplify calls to end the conflict, highlight its impact on women and girls, and mobilize support to women’s peacebuilding and protection efforts.
In late October, shortly after the conflict passed its six-month mark, UN Women in partnership with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), African Union, and International Women's Peace Center organized a conference with Sudanese women peacebuilders in Kampala, Uganda.
The conference included consultations with more than 400 women across 14 Sudanese states about their priorities and demands and aimed to build bridges between women in Sudan and in countries across the region. Women joined online from Sudan and in-person, with many refugees and exiles attending.
The conference also aimed to enhance women’s leadership and highlighted the leading role Sudanese women and young women are playing in mobilizing the peace movement.
A long history of peacebuilding
“Sudanese women have their own narrative of resilience and determination as agents of peace”, said Adjaratou Ndiaye, UN Women’s Sudan representative. “Conflict and displacement have never shaken their mission for peace, as we witness this gathering today and recognize all the women-led peace initiatives and responses on the ground and in other parts of the world”.
Many women joined Sudan’s 2019 revolution, which saw the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir after 30 years in power. Women were able to organize protests and support young people throughout the upheaval, and their activism was highlighted by alternative media outlets that arose after the revolution. But 2019 represented just one episode in a long line of women’s work for peace and justice in the country.
“Since the founding of Sudan 67 years ago, the women of Sudan have always stood out as a beacon of hope and the voice of reason during the successive crises that have faced the country”, said Workneh Gebeyehu, Executive Secretary of IGAD.
“Let us remember the wise words of our African proverbs: ‘When men go to war, it is women who must pick up the pieces’”, he said. “Together, we can empower the women of Sudan to be the agents of peace and rebuild our shared nation.”
Calls for an immediate peace
Speaking on the sidelines of the conference, Suzan Hussein, a Sudanese woman activist living as a refugee in Uganda said, “This war should stop as soon as possible not just in Khartoum, but also in different areas in Sudan”.
“For me, this conference means a platform and a [form of] resistance. A platform in which I can represent the diversity of women in Sudan”, Hussein said, adding that she hoped the conference could link “different groups of women in order to create a feminist agenda” and resist violence against women.
Women-led organizations in Sudan have the expertise and experience to work on sensitive issues including gender-based violence and to provide services to women, girls, the elderly, and those with disabilities.
“Men do not consider our participation a priority, and they do not respond to women's demands for participation in negotiations”, said one woman activist whose anonymous testimony was presented at the conference.
“We are capable of representing ourselves on any platform, and we do not want men to speak on our behalf”, she said.
Another woman whose name was not disclosed to protect her safety was quoted in testimony as saying that existing women’s programming was difficult to continue during the conflict. While she was formerly able to provide kits to sexual violence survivors, “now we cannot reach the survivors to assist them”.
The current war is a manifestation of wider political, social, and economic forces. Argawi noted that peace was intimately tied with combating “poverty, marginalization, and discrimination, [and] creating a healthy and resilient environment”.
“We also hope to work together to develop a political consensus among the components of the people, a consensus that holds the recipe for political, economic, and social success”, Argawi said.
She explained that, only by developing agreements among all political actors, could the peace process “ensure the continuity of this approach, healing wounds, mending the fabric of our society, and injecting life into the nation's veins”.
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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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Story
18 August 2024
‘We can still turn the tide against hunger and famine in Sudan’
Hundreds of truckloads of World Food Programme assistance are speeding this month to the hungriest parts of Sudan, as part of a massively scaled-up response after famine was confirmed at a camp for displaced people in the country’s Darfur region.Targeting an initial 3 million people this month, the WFP food-and-cash support aims to prevent more people from falling into catastrophic hunger, one of the most horrific fallouts of the conflict in Sudan. In war-torn Khartoum, we recently distributed food and nutrition assistance to a hungry population for the first time in months. WFP is also supporting community kitchens – neighborhood volunteer groups that have become a vital food lifeline for Sudanese countrywide, especially in the capital.“We can still turn the tide against hunger and famine in Sudan,” said WFP Sudan Emergency Coordinator Marco Calvacante. “We can still make it.”But reaching millions of desperate people demands unfettered humanitarian access, safe passage, and a massive influx of funds. Overall, WFP needs US$459 million for its emergency response to support up to 8.4 million hungry people in Sudan by the end of this year.“We need this conflict to end. We need unimpeded access to reach those most in need,” Calvacante said. “We need the attention of the world to focus on Sudan.”Famine confirmedIn late July, the global standard for measuring food insecurity – the Integrated Food Phase Classification or IPC – confirmed famine in Zamzam camp, which houses more than 400,000 displaced people outside the besieged North Darfur city of El Fasher. This was a first for Sudan, and it's only the third famine confirmation worldwide since the IPC was first implemented 20 years ago – 13 other areas in the country are at risk of famine in the coming months.“Our biggest challenge is the continuation of this conflict which hampers our movement as well as the safe delivery of humanitarian supplies,” said WFP Sudan Country Director Eddie Rowe. ”We call on the parties for an immediate cessation of hostilities.”Sudan's is now the world’s largest displacement crisis. Since it started 16 months ago, the war has triggered a hunger spiral engulfing tens of millions of people countrywide. The fighting has ravaged Sudanese food production, destroyed essential markets, and cut off communities large and small from vital assistance. Along with heavy fighting, the rainy season poses another major setback in delivering assistance, with flooded roads grounding dozens of WFP aid trucks.According to IPC figures for June, nearly 26 million Sudanese face acute food insecurity. Nearly 750,000 people countrywide face catastrophic food insecurity, the highest hunger level. Roughly 730,000 children are projected to experience potentially life-threatening severe acute malnutrition this year. In the Darfur region, WFP Security Officer Khalid Hamdnalla describes meeting scores of hungry, displaced people during a recent United Nations interagency mission to assess humanitarian needs. “We saw whole families, including children and elders, who don’t have enough food. Some have been displaced more than three times,” said Hamdnalla of those they met, some of whom are sheltering in abandoned schools and other government buildings. “Their main requests were for food, education, sanitation and health services.”“The host communities are hungry as well,” he adds, “because they’ve shared what they had with the displaced people.” The UN mission crossed many armed checkpoints, but heavy rains proved the biggest challenge, making some wadis, or seasonal rivers, impassable. “You cannot imagine the road conditions with the rains,” Hamdnalla says. “There are big wadis, and the current is very fast – it’s very dangerous.”Few safe optionsIn late July, WFP was able to reach Sudan’s capital Khartoum for the first time since March, allowing us to deliver two-month rations of sorghum, lentils, oil and salt to people. Many we reached are elderly or otherwise unable to flee the conflict’s frontlines. The fighting has reduced swathes of the city to rubble, including Khartoum’s iconic and all-important Omdurman market – delivering a blow to the country’s food supply and economy.Over 90,000 people in the greater Khartoum area are on the brink of famine; more than 1 million are experiencing emergency hunger levels. Yet people are trickling back to the capital – not because it is safer, but because there are few safe options after months on the run.“They starting coming back to their houses, but unfortunately they don’t have anything inside – they even don’t have a job because of the war,’ says Khalid Mohamed Elbaghir, a volunteer with one of Khartoum’s community kitchens. “So we started supplying them with food to make them stay more easily in this neighborhood.”WFP is supporting neighborhood kitchens like Elbaghir’s, which provide soup and other staples to city residents. The overall aim is to distribute up to 140,000 hot meals daily. For many elderly and other vulnerable people in the capital, it is their only meal of the day.“Often two or three days passed without us being able to go out and get food – sometimes we’d be trapped in our homes for a week,” says Maya, a former tea seller in Khartoum. “If we tried to leave, we would get beaten in the street and robbed of money and food.”Other Sudanese are seeking safety elsewhere in the country. Amna Yousif’s family fled their home in war-buffeted Sennar state, walking and hitching truck rides for eight days before reaching the relatively secure seaside city of Port Sudan. “We got up at 2 a.m. on a rainy night, carrying the children in our arms and walking through the night in the mud,” she recalled of their flight.Today, the family lives in a tent in an abandoned lot in Port Sudan.“When I left my house I left the okra flourishing and the molokhia (mallow) ready for harvest,” Yousif recalled of the local vegetables she grew – and of better times, when her family lived without hunger. “One of the good things about our village is that when you sow with your hand, you eat and drink.”WFP’s emergency response in Sudan is made possible through contributions from our donors including the African Development Bank, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, the European Commission (ECHO), France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, KS Relief, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malta, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI), Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the UN Central Emergency Relief Fund, and the United States of America.
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Story
20 May 2024
Going the extra mile to stop poliovirus spread
By Proscovia Nakibuuka Mbonye, Sara Awad and WHO Eastern Mediterranean RegionIt’s day one of the polio vaccination campaign in Sudan’s Red Sea State, where poliovirus was detected in sewage samples earlier in 2024. At the crack of dawn, vaccinators set off with their vaccine carriers filled with ice packs and vials of oral polio vaccine and vitamin A to reach children in their communities. Their goal: vaccinate every child aged under 5 years in the state over the 4 days of the campaign.
Since the conflict in Sudan began, in April 2023, health infrastructure and immunization services have been disrupted. Hundreds of thousands of children have been left unvaccinated and at risk of infection from vaccine-preventable diseases such as polio. This situation is made worse by the displacement of large numbers of people.
When news of the positive poliovirus samples was reported, the Federal Ministry of Health sprang into action with the support of WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). After carrying out detailed investigations and risk assessments, a team of technical experts were deployed to identify various high-risk areas across Sudan requiring a response.
By the time the campaign was launched in Red Sea State, communities were well aware of its aims. Social mobilizers had seized every chance to visit and sensitize communities to polio vaccination. Messages played on the radio and from loudspeakers on vehicles echoed across villages, urging parents and caregivers to vaccinate all children aged under 5 years in the upcoming polio vaccination campaign. Health teams also worked with partners to reach children in displaced families. At the Agig Health Centre, Mahmoud, a health worker and vaccinator for 10 years, collects vaccines for the catchment area he is covering on day 3 of the campaign.
He plans to reach the mobile and hard-to-reach communities in Barqiq valley, in the mountains and along the border with Eritrea, where the nearest health facility is 40 km away. Until the start of May this year, these mobile communities will remain in the mountains. Come summer, they will travel to the countryside of Kassala State. "With these populations always on the move, there is a very real possibility that their children may miss out on vaccination activities,” says Mahmoud. “This means we have no time to waste in reaching these children."With the vaccines stored safely in cool boxes and vaccine carriers to maintain the optimum temperature, the team embarks on the journey from Agig to Barqiq valley. They first travel by car but switch to camels and donkeys for the last 2 hours, as the roads get rougher and narrower. Drop by drop, children are protectedWhen Mahmoud and his team arrive, parents and caregivers are patiently waiting in a makeshift straw-roofed shelter. They all share one thing in common – the desire to protect their children from preventable life-threatening diseases.
Fatima, mother to 4-year-old Mohammed, visited the health centre a few months ago. While her malnourished child received treatment, she was told about the upcoming polio campaign. She didn’t think twice about vaccinating her children, because she knows this is the best gift she can give them.
“Every time the vaccinators arrive, I take my children out to receive vaccines, and they are all doing well,” Fatima says.
Drop after drop, the team administers the oral polio vaccine to one child and then another, with the aim of protecting all the children in the shelter from polio. The disease can cause paralysis and even death if children are not vaccinated enough times.
By the end of the day, the team had covered 180 children, including 29 infants aged under 12 months and some zero-dose children, who had never previously received any vaccines. Impressed by the numbers reached, Mahmoud shares that the change in behaviour among this community didn’t just happen overnight. It is the result of years of regular health education efforts by health promoters, health workers and volunteers.
“We consistently engaged them through health education and awareness-raising sessions,” says Mahmoud, speaking of parents and caregivers. “We informed them that vaccination is a form of protection and provided examples of children from the community who did not receive vaccinations and how they suffered from diseases. As a result, they have become more accepting of vaccination.”
This was also coupled with the engagement of community leaders, like the local mayor of Barqiq valley, who have since become advocates for child health, including vaccination drives.
“These are our people and children, so we make every effort to include them in the health campaigns and routine immunizations,” says Mahmoud, a front-line hero for immunization efforts.
In total, the 4-day Red Sea State campaign provided polio vaccine and vitamin A to more than 200 000 children aged under 5 years. Similar campaigns in 8 other high-risk states of Sudan will begin in late May 2024 to ensure that all vulnerable, accessible children are protected, no matter where they are. Background to GPEI efforts in SudanAmid the war in Sudan, Global Polio Eradication Initiative partners such as UNICEF and WHO have supported the country to prevent the further spread of its polio outbreak.
UNICEF is procuring and delivering vaccines and leading social mobilization activities at the community level to increase uptake of vaccination services. It is also orienting key campaign stakeholders, such as social mobilizers, religious and community leaders and the media, on their roles.
WHO has been technically supporting the development of microplans, the capacity-building of vaccinators, and intra- and post-campaign monitoring for vaccination campaigns. This is part of WHO’s ongoing efforts to support surveillance of poliovirus and the technical response to prevent its spread and boost children’s immunity, including through the rollout of polio vaccination campaigns.
Since the conflict in Sudan began, in April 2023, health infrastructure and immunization services have been disrupted. Hundreds of thousands of children have been left unvaccinated and at risk of infection from vaccine-preventable diseases such as polio. This situation is made worse by the displacement of large numbers of people.
When news of the positive poliovirus samples was reported, the Federal Ministry of Health sprang into action with the support of WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). After carrying out detailed investigations and risk assessments, a team of technical experts were deployed to identify various high-risk areas across Sudan requiring a response.
By the time the campaign was launched in Red Sea State, communities were well aware of its aims. Social mobilizers had seized every chance to visit and sensitize communities to polio vaccination. Messages played on the radio and from loudspeakers on vehicles echoed across villages, urging parents and caregivers to vaccinate all children aged under 5 years in the upcoming polio vaccination campaign. Health teams also worked with partners to reach children in displaced families. At the Agig Health Centre, Mahmoud, a health worker and vaccinator for 10 years, collects vaccines for the catchment area he is covering on day 3 of the campaign.
He plans to reach the mobile and hard-to-reach communities in Barqiq valley, in the mountains and along the border with Eritrea, where the nearest health facility is 40 km away. Until the start of May this year, these mobile communities will remain in the mountains. Come summer, they will travel to the countryside of Kassala State. "With these populations always on the move, there is a very real possibility that their children may miss out on vaccination activities,” says Mahmoud. “This means we have no time to waste in reaching these children."With the vaccines stored safely in cool boxes and vaccine carriers to maintain the optimum temperature, the team embarks on the journey from Agig to Barqiq valley. They first travel by car but switch to camels and donkeys for the last 2 hours, as the roads get rougher and narrower. Drop by drop, children are protectedWhen Mahmoud and his team arrive, parents and caregivers are patiently waiting in a makeshift straw-roofed shelter. They all share one thing in common – the desire to protect their children from preventable life-threatening diseases.
Fatima, mother to 4-year-old Mohammed, visited the health centre a few months ago. While her malnourished child received treatment, she was told about the upcoming polio campaign. She didn’t think twice about vaccinating her children, because she knows this is the best gift she can give them.
“Every time the vaccinators arrive, I take my children out to receive vaccines, and they are all doing well,” Fatima says.
Drop after drop, the team administers the oral polio vaccine to one child and then another, with the aim of protecting all the children in the shelter from polio. The disease can cause paralysis and even death if children are not vaccinated enough times.
By the end of the day, the team had covered 180 children, including 29 infants aged under 12 months and some zero-dose children, who had never previously received any vaccines. Impressed by the numbers reached, Mahmoud shares that the change in behaviour among this community didn’t just happen overnight. It is the result of years of regular health education efforts by health promoters, health workers and volunteers.
“We consistently engaged them through health education and awareness-raising sessions,” says Mahmoud, speaking of parents and caregivers. “We informed them that vaccination is a form of protection and provided examples of children from the community who did not receive vaccinations and how they suffered from diseases. As a result, they have become more accepting of vaccination.”
This was also coupled with the engagement of community leaders, like the local mayor of Barqiq valley, who have since become advocates for child health, including vaccination drives.
“These are our people and children, so we make every effort to include them in the health campaigns and routine immunizations,” says Mahmoud, a front-line hero for immunization efforts.
In total, the 4-day Red Sea State campaign provided polio vaccine and vitamin A to more than 200 000 children aged under 5 years. Similar campaigns in 8 other high-risk states of Sudan will begin in late May 2024 to ensure that all vulnerable, accessible children are protected, no matter where they are. Background to GPEI efforts in SudanAmid the war in Sudan, Global Polio Eradication Initiative partners such as UNICEF and WHO have supported the country to prevent the further spread of its polio outbreak.
UNICEF is procuring and delivering vaccines and leading social mobilization activities at the community level to increase uptake of vaccination services. It is also orienting key campaign stakeholders, such as social mobilizers, religious and community leaders and the media, on their roles.
WHO has been technically supporting the development of microplans, the capacity-building of vaccinators, and intra- and post-campaign monitoring for vaccination campaigns. This is part of WHO’s ongoing efforts to support surveillance of poliovirus and the technical response to prevent its spread and boost children’s immunity, including through the rollout of polio vaccination campaigns.
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Story
10 June 2024
Empowering Sudan’s communities to fight malaria
Sudan stands out for its unique social fabric and complex malaria landscape. Despite the conflict that has raged for more than a year, as well as many political and economic challenges, Sudan continues to try to respond to malaria. Community engagement initiatives have proved crucial to this effort.Gedaref state hosts close to 500 000 internally displaced people and bustles with volunteers and civil society organizations. Here, efforts by community members have been vital in navigating the chronic malaria burden and curbing other epidemics that have ensued since the conflict began in April 2023.For nearly 2 decades, Abdalla Adam, a teacher and farmer from Om Bileil, a malaria-stricken village in Gedaref, has been at the forefront of community efforts to alleviate malaria. “Gedaref is synonymous with malaria,” said Abdalla. “We see other diseases too: kala-azar, polio, cholera and, more recently, dengue and chikungunya. But these come and go, while malaria has been here for as long as I can remember.”He explained how community service is a strong part of his Sudanese upbringing, culture and identity: “My early days with community service were largely a spontaneous extension of my upbringing. I come from a small village and nafeer* is customary for us. We would gather to clean the neighbourhood and spray ponds with insecticides.”Abdalla shared how the scope of efforts in Om Bileil grew considerably through community awareness raising. Ms Wejdan Abdulbagi, Manager of the Malaria Control Programme in Gedaref, educated the community about vector control and the free malaria services at primary health care centres. People had previously seen cost as a major barrier to seeking health care for malaria.During vector control campaigns, each member of Abdalla’s neighbourhood is responsible for spraying the homes of their extended family. “We also conduct regular health promotion campaigns to spread life-saving messages, like ‘If you have fever, don’t just sleep on it. Go see a doctor, it’s free!’ I think we’re doing well but a lot more can be achieved with sufficient training.”Ms Abdulbagi said that malaria indicators have improved with community engagement initiatives: “It has become standard practice for us to involve the local community given the significant burden of malaria and the limited resources to battle it.“Last year, the ministry was running its therapeutic efficacy study and Gedaref’s Al-Salam Hospital was selected as a sentinel site. We were already seeing considerable improvement in the care-seeking behaviour thanks to [the volunteers’] efforts, but I wanted to ensure we finish within the designated time frame, so I reached out to Abdalla. A health promotion campaign was swiftly commenced, and data collection concluded in a timely manner”.Gedaref’s example reflects a broader shift taking place across Sudan, whereby communities are increasingly seen as pivotal in improving their own well-being. The Federal Ministry of Health is moving to institutionalize grassroots health initiatives by adopting a community health strategy. Community members are thus set to play an integral role in both the prevention and case management aspects of malaria control in Sudan.
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Story
08 March 2024
A Celebration of Women Who Stayed to Serve-Sudan
Women continue to play a critical role in the recovery and reconstruction of Sudan despite being the largest population disproportionately affected by the protracted conflict. To date, the conflict has displaced and impacted 8.1 million people out of which 69% are women, which amounts to 12.4% of the total population of Sudan. Though a grave situation in the country, the women’s resilience has not been waived. One inspiring success story of a woman working in a conflict-affected area is about Nada Bashir, a project manager for UNOPS in Sudan. Nada’s journey is a testament to the resilience, courage, and commitment of women. Nada Graduated from Khartoum University with an Architectural Engineer and has more than 21 years of experience in the field of project management, 9 of which were in UAE where she became the first female to be allowed to work inside the National Drilling Company site. She is passionate about project management and was the first Sudanese Project Management Professional holder since 2005 (Colorado - USA).In 2021, Nada decided to go back to Sudan as she became increasingly aware of the challenges faced by women and children in her country. At that time she hadn't even secured any job - but her decision was based on her passion and interest in serving the people of Sudan. After the war broke out in 2023, despite the danger and the challenge, she kept working and was determined to make a difference in her community. “I knew my people were in need more than ever, so I decided to continue working as long as the situation allows me,” Nada says. With a unique combination of technical competencies and managerial abilities acquired during demanding roles in complex multi-million construction projects, Nada is currently focused on health infrastructure. To address the inadequate health infrastructure in Kassala, UNOPS Sudan and the Italian Government have been working together to implement a $10.5 million project. In 2023, UNOPS rehabilitated the diagnostic centre, renovated the blood bank, and constructed the Saudi Maternity Hospital’s new technical building as well as its public facilities blocks. With a population of around 2.8 million, Kassala town serves as the capital of Kassala State in Eastern Sudan. As a result of civil unrest, Kassala state is currently receiving an increasing number of IDPs which is growing daily. “When the war erupted, I had two open sites with unfinished works. Mobilizing the contractors to complete the work was not an easy task. In addition to the psychological pressures, we didn't have an internet connection, telephone lines were cut off, and much more… Against all odds, we managed to complete and hand over the first phase of the project. These health facilities are the main and only facilities of its nature which are currently serving not only Kassala residents but more than 175,000 IDPs. Now when I see the smiles of the facilities managers and the satisfaction of the beneficiaries while using those completed buildings, I couldn't be happier!” Nada proudly says. She continues explaining: “You know that out of the 2.8 million beneficiaries, 24.8% are women, 15% are children below five years old, and 4.9% are people living with disabilities - I believe I have not only contributed to the success of the project but also saved the lives of countless women and children. The project has contributed to the broader goal of rebuilding a more resilient and inclusive society in Kasalah, Sudan.” “I say to all the women out there working in a challenging environment, believe in what you are doing, and no matter how difficult it is, it is not impossible,” Nada concludes. Going forward, UNOPS will complete the General Surgery Unit, operation theaters and construction of the two main roads of the Kassala Health Citadel with external pavement and rehabilitation of the external areas between the blood bank and the diagnostic centre.
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Story
08 March 2024
Enhancing the capacities of women in agriculture in Sudan
“I am feeling happy because I no longer have to buy maize from the market to feed my children” she said., Hawa is one of about 150 other women farmers in the area called Al-Saffarah in Al-Qalabat, about 20 kilometers southeast of Gedaref state. According to FAO -Women represent 49% of the farmers in the irrigated sector and 57% in the rainfed traditional sector in Sudan. Women in the rainfed sector are primarily subsistence farmers but they also work as seasonal wage labourers in the rainfed mechanized sector, and as hired or unpaid family labourers in the irrigated sector. Although women play a crucial role in agriculture, contributing to both the GDP and to household food security, their contribution to agriculture and the overall economic development process continues to be undervalued.Hawa comes from a poor background with nine family members. She rented land and grew agricultural produce to protect herself and her family from hunger and misery. She used to produce about 3 bags of sorghum per year, but she couldn’t plant for two years due to the difficult economic conditions. In 2023, Hawawas finally able to plant after receiving seeds and agriculture equipment from UN WOMEN in collaboration with FAO and AICS under the WE_RISE project... She planted about one and a half hectares and harvestedfour bags of a sorghum in 2024. Hawa added that the biggest challenge for her was the weed called “Buda”, which is common in the area. She had a lot of trouble fighting and eradicating it and preventing its harvest until the end of the season.Hawa is one of the beneficiaries of the WE_ RISE project, having received seeds along with 30 other women farmers in her village as part of a program funded by the European Union aim to create an environment that promotes the economic empowerment of women living in the most basic conditions in the States of Khartoum, Kassala, Gedaref and the Blue Sea.D. Awatif Nahar, Economist and Gender specialist said, “The increase in the productivity in the current humanitarian crisis is substantial to reducing the food insecurity risk and enhancing the local economy growth”.The program also aims to encourage women's economic empowerment, contribute to gender equality and women's rights by promoting social health and strengthening national capacities.
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Press Release
25 August 2024
Readout of the UN Secretary-General's phone call with First Lieutenant General Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan Abdelrahman Al-Burhan, President of the Transitional Sovereign Council of the Republic of the Sudan
They discussed the movement of humanitarian aid through Adre. It was agreed to facilitate the movement of humanitarian supplies to enter the country. They also agreed that in parallel the UN will work with the Sudanese authorities to put in place a simplified system for the expedited processing and delivery of humanitarian aid.
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Press Release
19 August 2024
Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan calls for protection of civilians and aid workers, and end impunity
“As we mark the World Humanitarian Day today in Sudan, we appeal to all the parties to the conflict, members states, especially those with leverage visa-vis the conflict parties, and the wider international community to end attacks on civilians and take active steps to protect them – and the critical civilian infrastructure they rely on,” said Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan. “We also call on all parties to ensure the protection of all aid workers, including those working for local and national partners, and their premises and assets, facilitate their work, including opening up and guaranteeing safe and unhindered humanitarian access.”At least 22 aid workers– all of them Sudanese nationals – have been killed while on duty and at least 34 aid workers have been wounded or injured during this period.“Our fallen colleagues have been doing their utmost to help the most vulnerable people in need despite the risks and lost their lives. Aid workers are not a target, and these attacks must stop,” she added. “Attacks against civilians, aid workers and civilian infrastructure are violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). The perpetrators cannot go unpunished and should be held to account.”The 16-month long conflict has had a devastating impact on civilian infrastructure, over 75 per cent of health facilities are non-functional in conflict-affected states. Since April 2023, 88 attacks on health care – including on health facilities, ambulances and transport, assets, patients, and health workers – have been verified resulting in 55 deaths and 104 injuries. Destruction of power, water and sanitation infrastructure in conflict areas has led to increased risk of diseases and contributed to famine risk.“All parties to the conflict and all States must uphold their obligations and leverage their influence to ensure respect for the rules of war and minimize human suffering. Fulfilling these obligations requires immediate and decisive actions,” the Humanitarian Coordinator said. “Turning a blind eye when humanitarian workers are targeted only emboldens those who seek to hinder their work.”This impunity only increases food insecurity, childhood malnutrition, involuntary displacement and the spread of infectious diseases and other threats. “No matter what, we will continue to stay and deliver the lifesaving assistance to millions of most vulnerable people across Sudan, especially those already going through famine conditions and on the brink of it. The protection of civilians and aid workers as well as safe access must go hand in hand with upscaling humanitarian funding. More than seven months into the year, the Sudan humanitarian appeal, seeking US$2.7 billion, is just 33 per cent funded. This is constraining and limiting the response efforts of the UN, international and national NGOs on the ground, including in Darfur, Khartoum, Kordofan, and other areas. About 150 humanitarian organizations across Sudan have reached nearly 8 million people with some form of humanitarian aid since January. This is over half of the 14.7 million people whom humanitarian organizations plan to reach with assistance in 2024.
For more information, please contact: Tapiwa Gomo, gomo@un.org; +249 91 217 0418
For more information, please contact: Tapiwa Gomo, gomo@un.org; +249 91 217 0418
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Press Release
19 August 2024
WFP welcomes Adre Border opening as the food agency races to save lives in war-torn Sudan
NAIROBI/GENEVA:The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes the news that the Adre border crossing from Chad into Sudan will be opened, as the aid agency is in a race against time to save lives in war-torn Sudan. Across the country, WFP is scaling up assistance to 14 areas either in famine or at risk of famine, largely located in Darfur, Kordofan, Khartoum, and Gezira, with the aim to support up to 8.4 million people by the end of the year. The opening of this critical humanitarian corridor through Adre will enable us to deliver aid into Sudan’s conflict-rattled Darfur region, where famine was confirmed just two weeks ago in Zamzam IDP camp near El Fasher, North Darfur’s capital. WFP is immediately mobilizing vital food and nutrition supplies to be transported via the Adre corridor over the coming weeks. We need to see trucks moving across this border every single day to get a consistent flow of aid into the region. As we speak, two convoys, with nearly 6,000 mt of food and nutrition supplies for around half a million people are being loaded, destined for risk of famine areas in the North, Central and West Darfur states as soon as official Government communication and clearances are received. This comes at a crucial time, as the only other border crossing from Chad into Darfur (via Tine) has become largely impassable due to heavy rains, where around 30 trucks full of WFP assistance have been unable to cross a flooded seasonal river for nearly a month. Across Sudan, what little hope the Sudanese are holding onto after 16 months of war is being swept away by heavy rainfall and floods. The rainy season is exacerbating the already devastating food security situation in Sudan. Floods are forcing more people from their homes, increasing humanitarian needs, and cutting off communities from vital assistance. Heavy rains have destroyed key bridges and made it extremely difficult for aid convoys to pass through muddy, flooded roads. Currently more than 50 trucks carrying an estimated 4,800 mt of WFP food and nutrition assistance – enough for around 500,000 people - are stuck in various locations across Sudan and unable to move towards their final destinations due to flooded and impassable roads. That’s why it is ever more critical that additional humanitarian corridors are open, and that humanitarian access is massively expanded. WFP urgently needs all other border crossings into Sudan to open to be able to use every possible supply route to deliver urgently needed food and nutrition assistance as shifting frontline lines and now severe flooding means we must constantly negotiate and secure new routes for aid convoys. This includes a formal agreement between South Sudan and Sudan to transport aid from the south into Darfur, Kordofan, and Blue Nile. As the Sudanese people continue suffering the unimaginable – bearing the brunt of the ongoing war and now also at nature’s whim as the heavy rains are setting off a disaster on top of a disaster - now is the time for all actors, especially parties to the conflict, to come together and act in the interest of the Sudanese people who are now seeing what little hope they had left drowned by downpours nationwide. The ongoing Geneva peace talks offer a vital opportunity for the international community to address widespread operational challenges and access impediments directly with the warring parties obstructing aid delivery. It is critical for that warring parties leave the battlefield and show up at the negotiating table, so we can get food moving to hunger-struck communities across the country in time before it’s too late. # # # The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change. Follow us on Twitter @wfp_mediaContactLeni Kinzli, WFP/Sudan, Mob. +254 769602340 Alessandro Abbonizio, WFP/ Nairobi, Mob. +254 723 001 639 Annabel Symington, WFP/ Rome, Mob. +39 342 1884921 Nina Valente, WFP/ London, Mob. +44 (0)796 8008 474 Martin Rentsch, WFP/ Berlin, Mob +49 160 99 26 17 30 Shaza Moghraby, WFP/ New York, Mob. + 1 929 289 9867 Steve Taravella, WFP/ Washington, Mob. +1 202 770 5993
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Press Release
18 August 2024
Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General – on the decision of the Sudanese authorities to re-open the Adre border crossing
The Secretary-General underscores the importance of concrete and sustained measures to facilitate humanitarian access and protect civilians, in accordance with the obligations of Sudanese parties under international humanitarian law and previously agreed modalities. Humanitarian organizations must have full, safe and unhindered access to reach all civilians in need across Darfur, and across the country as a whole. The United Nations remains fully committed to working with all relevant stakeholders to help end the conflict and alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people. Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-GeneralNew York, 17 August 2024
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Press Release
18 August 2024
Top UN official in Sudan hails re-opening of Adre border crossing point from Chad to Darfur
“The Adre crossing is a critical lifeline for the people of Sudan,” said Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan. “This humanitarian route will help us deliver emergency food and nutrition supplies, medicine, shelter, and other life-saving assistance to millions of people in desperate need.”Following the closure of the Adre crossing point by the Sudanese authorities in February, the UN and its humanitarian partners have been using the Tine border crossing into North Darfur. Heavy rains and flooding in recent weeks have significantly impeded aid being transported through Tine. Humanitarian organizations have relief supplies in eastern Chad that are ready to move via Adre crossing.“We have been relentlessly advocating for the reopening of the Adre crossing, as it is the most effective and shortest route to deliver humanitarian assistance to Sudan at the scale and speed required, especially to Darfur,” Ms. Nkweta-Salami said. “Every minute and every mile counts – and can mean the difference between life and death for the millions of people affected by this conflict.”Food insecurity in Sudan has reached record levels, with nearly 26 million people in acute hunger. On 1 August, famine conditions were confirmed in Zamzam displacement camp near Al Fasher in North Darfur. Food security experts warn that civilians in a further 13 localities in other parts of Sudan are at risk of famine.“Given what is at stake, it is essential to expedite humanitarian access by keeping the Adre border crossing open permanently to avoid delays. Additionally, all parties must remove all unnecessary bureaucratic impediments into Darfur and other areas facing acute needs, guarantee the safety and security of aid workers and assets in Al Fasher and facilitate unimpeded aid delivery through all possible routes into and within the country, including across conflict lines as agreed in the Jeddah Declaration,” said Ms. Nkweta-Salami.Ms. Nkweta-Salami also underscored the need for urgent funds to scale up efforts to reach all people in need. More than seven months into the year, the $2.7 billion Sudan humanitarian appeal for 2024 is just 33 per cent funded, constraining and limiting the response by the UN, international and national NGOs in Sudan, including in Darfur, Kordofan and Khartoum. More than 125 humanitarian organizations are on the ground and have reached nearly 8 million people with some form of humanitarian aid since January.For more information, please contact: Tapiwa Gomo, gomo@un.org; +249 91 217 0418
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