Refugee agency issues $103 million appeal for Sudan
December 12, 2008 (KHARTOUM) – The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) issued a US$103 million appeal for Sudan as part of its 2009 global appeal.
“The conflict in Sudan continues to affect millions of people and create a complex and volatile political and security situation that remains a challenge for the humanitarian community,” stated the appeal.
The overall budget for Chad and Sudan has increased by approximately 20 per cent over the last five years. A major increase occurred in 2008, mainly due to the emphasis on reintegration activities in Southern Sudan, the expansion of programmes in Darfur and projects to cope with displacement within and into Chad.
UNHCR and other organizations in Sudan are planning for January 2009 refugees to number 200,000 from Eritrea, 45,150 from Chad, 16,523 from Ethiopia and 3,422,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs).
“In Darfur, the lack of security is likely to displace more people and prevent sustainable return,” noted the report, referring to those who have fled the war in Sudan’s west.
One key target this year for refugees in Khartoum and eastern Sudan is to keep the under-five mortality rate in camps under 20 percent and the maternal mortality rate under 225 deaths per 100,000 live births.
Many refugees and IDPs live in slums in Khartoum as a result of economic change and rural displacement from decades of civil wars that began in 1983, marking the second period of civil wars in Sudan’s history of independence.
In camps in eastern Sudan during 2008 the global acute malnutrition rate was 14.5 percent. UNHCR aims to drop that figure to 11.6 percent in 2009.
While aid workers continue to be unable to access many rural areas in Darfur, said the appeal, problems even in accessible urban areas are also foreseen: “The growth in returns to Juba and other urban centres will continue to strain local infrastructure and may generate social problems.”
Overall for Sudan, certain activities and services will be cut, like in health and education, but other spending will increase like for income generation programs and transport and logistics.
Like last year, UNHCR plans to spend over $11 million on legal assistance, $8 million of which is for Darfur.
The UNHCR presence in north and south darfur has increased. Other major efforts will be made to reintegrate returnees to
“UNHCR will assist at least 54,000 Sudanese refugees to return home, mostly from Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. The majority of the returnees are expected to arrive in Jonglei, Eastern Equatoria and Upper Nile States. Accordingly, reintegration resources will be targeted at these areas,”
In Chad, where many Darfuris fled from the war, there are more than 300,000 refugees and 150,000 IDPs. The UNCHR 2009 funding appeal for Chad was $92 million.
“Peace and stability remain fragile, with high levels of insecurity throughout the country, especially in the borders areas from which IDPs originate,” said the UNHCR appeal for Chad. The report also pointed to poor roads and slow international procurement of resources.
The refugee agency furthermore noted that refugees are unable even “to achieve even a modest degree of self-reliance” because of increasing demand for firewood, arable land and water in areas that are not their home in the first place.
Aid workers decided to aim for providing all refugees with basic health care and keeping the acute malnutrition rate among children under 5 percent in all camps in Chad.
(ST)