UN, Sudan & aid groups launch joint appeal for $1 billion in aid
May 5, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The United Nations and the Sudanese government launched a joint appeal to donors to provide $1.03 billion to meet the humanitarian needs of 5.4 million people spread over several areas of need namely eastern Sudan, Darfur, South Kordofan, Blue Nile.
The plea was made on Tuesday by representatives from the UN, Khartoum government along with partners from national and international agencies operating in Sudan who rolled out the 2015 Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan to provide aid to those affected using mechanisms that would cover 11 sectors through the implementation of 349 urgent-need projects.
The launch of the joint plan was delayed by more than three months as it was supposed to be tabled earlier this year to boost chances of receiving the needed funds.
The UN resident coordinator in Sudan Mustafa bin Malih said during today’s announcement that the humanitarian need in Sudan “is still large and very high”.
He noted that $720 million are needed for urgent-need projects since Sudan is dealing with major humanitarian crises in Darfur and influx of refugees from South Sudan as a result of the armed conflict between government and rebels there.
Bin Malih also noted the other humanitarian challenges related to the spread of measles and growing rates of severe acute malnutrition among half a million children warning that they face the risk of death unless the situation is addressed.
The UN official announced the receipt of $200 million from donors since the beginning of this year out of $ 1 billion needed.
“Life-saving assistance is a priority. As conflicts continue unabated in and around Sudan, the number of displaced and new refugees is unfortunately expected to increase,” Bin Malih said.
“This demands our collective and unified response,” he added.
Sudan’s humanitarian aid commissioner (HAC) Ahmed Mohamed Adam stressed Khartoum’s commitment to facilitating the delivery of aid to those in need and working in cooperation with humanitarian organizations.
Adam pointed to the decline in the number of people in need this year to about five million people, compared to six million last year calling it an indication of improvement in the humanitarian situation.
He attributed delay in launching joint plan to technical issues adding that last year they received 55% of the aid amount requested.
The Sudanese official strongly denied that donors attached conditions to providing aid.
In a related issue, Adam said that Sudan is hosting 322,000 South Sudanese refugees, spread over 13 states most of who are in Khartoum and projected the number to go up to 350,000 people.
(ST)