Geneva (TDI): The United Nations (UN) appealed on Monday for $6 billion to provide desperately-needed assistance to people in war-torn Sudan and millions of refugees fleeing “appalling” conditions.
The aim is to provide aid to approximately 26 million people this year, the United Nations’ humanitarian agency OCHA and refugee agency UNHCR said in a joint appeal.
Since April 2023, the country has been locked in a brutal civil war between army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and his ex-deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
The UN agencies said the conflict has displaced 12 million people, of whom nearly 3.5 million have fled the country.
They emphasized that at the same time, about two-thirds of Sudan’s population needs emergency assistance, as swathes of the country face famine conditions.
Also Read: Pakistan Presses South Sudan on Election Roadmap
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement that Sudan is a humanitarian emergency of shocking proportions.
“Famine is taking hold. An epidemic of sexual violence rages. Children are being killed and wounded. The suffering is appalling.”
Famine conditions have already been reported in at least 5 areas in Sudan, including in displacement camps in Darfur and in the western Nuba Mountains, according to the UN statement.
And “catastrophic hunger is likely to worsen by May when the lean season begins,” it warned.
The UN said it was appealing for $4.2 billion to reach about 21 million people inside Sudan with life-saving assistance and protection.
Fletcher said the United Nations plan would provide “a lifeline to millions.”
Also Read: Pakistan Presses South Sudan on Election Roadmap
The UN said it would also need $1.8 billion to assist 4.8 million people – both Sudanese refugees and their host communities – in the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan and Uganda.
“Today, one-third of entire population in Sudan is displaced,” UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi said in the statement, adding that “the consequences of this horrific and senseless conflict spread far beyond Sudan’s borders.”
The UN warned that without immediate funding, two-thirds of refugee minors would be denied access to primary education, “threatening an entire generation.”
