UN release $21m to cover Sudan’s urgent humanitarian needs
September 1, 2017 (KHARTOUM) – The United Nations Friday released $21 million to provide life-saving food support, nutrition, water and sanitation, health and other assistance to Sudanese in the war affected areas in the country.
The funding will enable aid groups to support vulnerable people in the areas where access was previously limited in Darfur region, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states
“Our response will address both the immediate needs through emergency, life-saving assistance and strengthen (the) resilience of the most vulnerable and their communities to future and recurring shocks,” said Marta Ruedas, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan.
Acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) cases and the continuing influx of refugees from South Sudan have been straining available resources and increasing pressure on the limited basic services in the targeted areas where funding is now headed.
According to the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) and the World Health Organization (WHO) as of 18 August 2017, 30,762 cases of Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD)—including 657 related deaths—have been reported in the 18 states in the country since August 2016.
The FMoH and WHO expect additional 36,000 to 40,000 cases over the next six to nine months, as the AWD outbreak which many describe as cholera, is affecting all demographics, with females constituting 54 per cent of the cases.
(ST)