UN appeals for 465 million dollars of humanitarian aid for Sudan

KHARTOUM, Dec 8 (AFP) — UN agencies launched a campaign to raise 465 million dollars for Sudan next year to help eradicate extreme poverty and hunger as well as support the expected transition to peace.

The appeal targeting an estimated 3.5 million or more people was launched here by UN humanitarian coordinator Mukesh Kapila and the UN secretary general’s special humanitarian affairs envoy Tom Vraaslen.

The lion’s share, 295 million dollars, will go toward eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, as well as “supporting human rights, peace building and governance,” according to a UN statement.

“Recognizing the evolving context, assistance interventions have been designed to meet urgent humanitarian needs as well as to support transitional recovery and thereby help consolidate peace,” it said.

Many of the estimated three to four million people displaced by the war are expected to need help returning to their homes and reviving their communities, although the UN statement did not specifically refer to their case.

The Khartoum government and the southern rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army have made dramatic progress toward ending a 20-year civil war during negotiations over the past two years in Kenya.

Washington expects the warring sides to clinch a final peace deal by the end of this month.