New IDP camp in northern Sudan overwhelmed as international support falls short, minister says

May 19, Dongola — Sudan’s Minister of State for Human Resources and Social Welfare, Salima Ishaq, said on Tuesday that international support for a newly opened displacement camp east of Dongola in Northern State is inadequate and falls well short of what is needed to meet the needs of tens of thousands of people displaced from Darfur and Kordofan.

Ishaq, who also serves as a member of the National Mechanism for the Protection of Civilians, made the remarks during an inspection visit to the camp, warning that Northern State is bearing a significant burden due to the continuing influx of displaced people.

“The services provided to displaced people at the camp are insufficient despite the considerable efforts being made by both federal and state authorities,” she said.

The new camp was opened after the Al-Afad camp, east of Ad-Debba city, reached its full capacity of approximately 37,500 displaced people, forcing authorities to establish an alternative site in the Dongola locality. The new camp began operating last week with around 500 displaced persons, and arrangements are under way to transfer 468 families currently waiting at staging points around Ad-Debba to the new site.

Northern State’s Humanitarian Aid Commission has issued an appeal to international and national organisations to provide shelter, food, and health services at the Dongola camp.

Northern State currently hosts approximately 47,000 displaced families from Darfur and Kordofan.

Ishaq also disclosed that official authorities had documented serious violations against displaced persons arriving from the two regions, and that relevant committees had received a number of complaints from displaced people about abuses they had suffered. She did not provide further details on the nature of the violations.