Refugees and asylum seekers on the rise in Sudan: UNHCR
May 28, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – The number of refugees and asylum-seekers hosted in Sudan reached 1,130,547 individuals at end of 2021, an increase of 109,014 compared to the previous year, the United Nations refugee agency’s (UNHCR) in its 2021 Country Refugee Response Plan (CRP).
Over 800,000 of these individuals, it noted, originate from South Sudan, and more than half of the total population live in Khartoum or White Nile.
“In addition, Sudan hosts refugees from Ethiopia, Eritrea, CAR, Syria and Chad. 61% of all refugees and asylum-seekers live outside official camps in urban areas or settlements, many of them in extremely remote areas with little coverage of public services or presence of humanitarian actors,” partly reads the 22-page report.
It said the humanitarian situation in Sudan continued to deteriorate, and that the ongoing economic decline with an inflation rate of on average 360% in 2021 led to corresponding erosion of purchasing power and supply chain disruptions, negatively affecting all vulnerable populations in Sudan.
“Refugees, having fled their countries of origin to seek protection in Sudan, remain particularly vulnerable to impacts of degenerative economic trends, including reduction in purchasing power, service availability and access to livelihoods,” the refugee agency’s response plan noted.
According to UNHCR, the 2021 Sudan Country Refugee Response Plan had a financial appeal of $574 million of which 49% ($281 million) were funded.
Out of the received funding, it further revealed, $100 million supported the Ethiopian refugees in Eastern Sudan and Blue Nile State who arrived since November 2020 after conflict broke out in Northern Ethiopia.
The 2021 CRP, UNHCR stated, included the response of 30 humanitarian partners that worked alongside several Sudanese non-governmental organizations in the implementation of their programs across 11 states.
Since last year, CRP partners have reportedly continued to provide multi-sectorial assistance and protection to refugees and asylum-seekers in Sudan. While up to 557,711 individuals received full ration of food assistance either in kind or through cash-based interventions, 751,611 health consultations were provided to refugees and asylum-seekers.
However, while provision of drinking water and adequate sanitation facilities have reportedly remained below standards in many areas, partners constructed 8,597 latrines benefitting refugee communities.
“Efforts to expand registration to cover all refugees living in Sudan has continued, and by the end of 2021 739,988 (61%) refugees were individually registered, an increase of 117,508 compared to 2020,” the CRP stated.
(ST)