The Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher participated in an event hosted by the United States on Tuesday focused on mobilizing resources for the humanitarian response and building support for a humanitarian truce in Sudan.
According to Stéphane Dujarric, in his remarks, Fletcher said that the horrific humanitarian crisis in Sudan has endured more than 1,000 days, which is far too long. Too many days of famine, lives uprooted and destroyed, and women and girls subjected to terrifying sexual violence.
“Mr. Fletcher also noted that the Secretary-General has stressed that, as this devastating war approaches its third year, the guns must fall silent and a path to peace must be charted,” Dujarric said. “He reiterated our support for the work of the Quad – which is made up of the US, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates – to secure a humanitarian truce, including the demilitarization of key areas alongside the rapid scale-up of life-saving humanitarian assistance across the country.”
“Meanwhile, on the ground, the continued insecurity in many regions is pushing more people to flee and deepening an already severe humanitarian situation,” he added.
The spokesman said that in South Kordofan State, an OCHA mission to the locality of Abu Jubaihah last week found that more than 10,000 displaced people are living in camps facing critical gaps in food, healthcare, water and sanitation, shelter, and education services. He stated that most of the newly displaced families fled insecurity and hunger in the state capital, Kadugli, and the city of Dilling.
“Others came from West Kordofan and East Darfur states; some travelled via South Sudan, after long and dangerous journeys marked by theft, detention, and family separation. They need immediate humanitarian assistance,” Dujarric said.
Moving to the state of North Darfur, he said the UN’s partners report that more than 1,000 people have arrived in the locality of Tawila in recent days.
“Families face acute shortages of food, health services, and basic household items,” Dujarric stated. “We and our partners are giving hot meals through community kitchens, but more support is needed to meet other basic needs. Displacement also continues in the states of East Darfur and Blue Nile.”
He said that with humanitarian needs sharply rising and resources stretched, OCHA appeals to donors for funding, so our partners can scale up critical assistance for millions of people across the country.
“This year’s humanitarian response plan calls for $2.9 billion to reach more than 20 million people,” Dujarric concluded.