UN admits no aid has been distributed to millions of displaced Sudanese

October 5, 2023 (KHARTOUM) – Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, has admitted that no aid has been distributed to the millions of Sudanese who have fled to northern and central parts of the country.

Over one million refugees and returnees have fled the country, while another 4.3 million people have been displaced inside Sudan, mostly in northern and eastern Sudan. Sudan now has the largest number of internally displaced people in the world.

Nkweta-Salami held a press conference in Geneva on Thursday to speak about the UN’s efforts to support the needy people. The UN and its partners have appealed for US$3 billion to help Sudanese inside and outside the country.

When asked about complaints by displaced people in northern and central Sudan, the UN top official said that she was aware of the situation but that they were currently focusing on some states that she did not name.

She further stressed that they were targeting 18 million people and gradually reaching more each month. “But I’m very aware that there are many people we have not yet been able to respond effectively to,” she said.

“We hope to extend to the Northern, Nile River, and Kordofan. We have faced significant security challenges in some of these states, but we are committed to delivering (despite) these challenges. We are trying to reflect on the mechanisms to put in place as we cannot be there by ourselves. The network can be exploited to get assistance to those in need.”

Nkweta-Salam stressed that her primary focus was to secure additional resources and garner commitment to address the bureaucratic and administrative obstacles hindering progress as they work towards full implementation.

Fastest-growing displacement crisis

The Resident Humanitarian Coordinator told reporters that some 5.4 million people have fled their homes and are displaced within Sudan or neighbouring countries; that’s an average of about 30,000 a day, many fleeing with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

“Sudan has become the world’s fastest-growing displacement crisis,” she added.

Further, 24.7 million people – half of Sudan’s population – now require humanitarian assistance and protection as the conflict, displacement, and disease outbreaks threaten to consume the entire country.

The United Nations has so far delivered three thousand metric tonnes of aid supplies to affected displaced people in six states.

The recent floods that hit Sudan have affected over 70,000 people across seven states.