UNICEF works to file gaps on life-saving services to Darfur children

March 16, 2009 (NEW YORK) – The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said today it works in cooperation with government and remaining aid groups to file gaps in the provision of.

Earlier this month the Sudanese government ordered out 16 humanitarian organizations working in the war torn region of Darfur. Khartoum accused the groups collaborating with the International Criminal Court. However the evicted NGOs dismissed the charges.

The UNICEF, which is concerned by the impact on the quality and the distribution of water, warned that critical programs such as clean water, sanitation, health care and nutrition for hundreds of thousands of children will be affected.

While a full assessment of the impact on women and children is continuing, the fund emergency plans aim to meet immediate needs and to assure the most urgent needs could be met for up to three months.

The ousted aid groups are working in different parts of the country however Darfur where there are 2.7 displaced persons half of whom are children, is the most affected the decision.

The biggest impact will be in Darfur, where an estimated 2.7 million people have been displaced from their homes over the last four years – half of whom are children – and where the suspended NGOs were key partners in the provision of life-saving services.

Any disruption to health services and food distribution could exacerbate malnutrition levels among children, particularly with the approaching hunger gap season, which starts in April.

The annual flood season starts in May, and preparedness activities to prevent and minimize cholera outbreaks and response capacity are likely to be severely hampered with the departure of NGOs.

UNICEF has estimated that it will require $23 million to sustain the most critical humanitarian needs through June 2009 in areas affected by the suspension of the 16 NGOs.

(ST)