United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher has said that Wednesday marks three years of war in Sudan; three years in which a country of immense promise has been torn apart.
In a statement shared with Radio Tamazuj, Fletcher highlighted that nearly 34 million people – or almost two out of every three people – need humanitarian support: the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
“Hunger is tightening its grip as the lean season closes in. Hundreds of thousands of children are acutely malnourished, with millions being deprived of an education,” he said. “Women and girls are facing systemic and brutal sexual violence.”
“In the first three months of this year, nearly 700 civilians were reportedly killed in drone strikes,” the relief chief added.
He said millions have been driven from their homes across Sudan and beyond its borders, with entire communities emptied and families uprooted time and again. “The risk of wider regional instability is high.”
“Last year, humanitarians reached 17 million people with vital support. I pay tribute to their courage. This year, we aim to support 20 million. But the response is critically underfunded,” Fletcher stated. “We need action now – to stop the violence, protect civilians, ensure access to communities in greatest danger, and fund the response.”
“This grim and chastening anniversary marks another year when the world has failed to meet the test of Sudan,” he concluded.
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