USAID official calls for immediate ceasefire in Sudan

2 July 2024
In Humanitarian, News, SAF RSF fighting, Sudan

July 1, 2024 (WASHINGTON) – The Sudanese army (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) must negotiate an immediate ceasefire to guarantee unhindered access to people in need of humanitarian assistance, an official from the United States aid arm (USAID) said.

Samantha Power, the administrator for USAID, described the crisis in Sudan as “man-made”, and accused the warring factions involved in the crisis of obstructing efforts to reach the needy.

Recent reports say about 25.6 million people could face crisis or worse levels of severe hunger and require immediate humanitarian assistance.

Another projection show that 755,000 people are on the brink of starvation.

“This is a man-made crisis – directly caused by the 14 months of conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and the systematic obstruction of humanitarian aid by both parties”, Power said in a statement on Friday.

The top USAID official said despite both parties’ deliberate denial of life-saving assistance to the Sudanese people, USAID partners continue to provide food, malnutrition screening and treatment for young children, emergency health care, and other critical humanitarian assistance to people in need throughout the country.

“We are working with our partners to reach the most vulnerable, in spite of the obstructions, and we are prepared to surge assistance to hard-to-reach areas as brave humanitarian workers gain access. The United States has provided more than $1.4 billion in humanitarian assistance to support the people of Sudan since October 2022”, she explained.

Power said getting aid flowing on the scale necessary to meet these historic levels of need will require increased and sustained cross-border assistance, as well as greater cross-line assistance to move food, medical supplies, and other life-saving commodities between SAF and RSF territory.

“The United States continues to stand with the people of Sudan suffering as a result of this conflict and will do all that we can to get life-saving aid where it is needed most,” the statement stressed.

More than 8 million people have been displaced since conflict broke out between the SAF and RSF in mid-April last year, the United Nations said.

(ST)