UN: Number of I displaced persons in Darfur now 1 million

NAIROBI, April 21, 2004 (IRIN) — The number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sudan’s western region of Darfur has risen to one million, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

In a report issued in New York, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that the situation in Darfur was compounded by shortfalls of shelter, clean water, food and health-care supplies. It warned that “all funds contributed for relief efforts in Darfur so far have already been exhausted”, noting that the UN expected to revise its humanitarian appeal for the region beyond the US $115 million requested earlier this month.

OCHA quoted the UN’s country team in Sudan as reporting that shelter materials for IDPs in Darfur were now “completely exhausted”. Many IDP settlements were in remote areas without access to water points and therefore needed “urgent emergency water deliveries”. The team warned that this situation, coupled with the problem of overcrowding, was “likely” to lead to outbreaks of cholera, meningitis, measles and diarrhoea.

According to the report, existing food stocks were dwindling and would “need urgent replenishment”. It noted that IDPs and vulnerable groups which had access to land would need to prepare it for cultivation before the rainy season started in June. “If humanitarian groups cannot urgently provide farmers with seeds and tools for planting, food insecurity and thus humanitarian needs will increase,” it said.

Darfur was also affected by a health crisis, which was compounded by insufficient supplies of essential drugs, OCHA added. Children under the age of five years, minors separated from their families, and pregnant and lactating women were among the most vulnerable people among the IDPs as well as the resident population. Infant and maternal mortality had risen sharply.

Meanwhile, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced a contribution of an additional 30,000 mt of emergency food aid, worth US $27.1 million, to the World Food Programme for distribution in Darfur.

USAID said in a statement that its announcement followed the declaration (on 11 April) of a ceasefire between the government and two rebel groups in Darfur, “which includes a pledge to guarantee safe passage of humanitarian aid to Darfur”.