South Kordofan and Blue Nile suffer harsh humanitarian conditions: UN
August 17, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Marta Ruedas on Wednesday said that South Kordofan and Blue Nile areas are suffering from severe humanitarian problems that require urgent intervention.
South Kordofan and neighbouring Blue Nile state have been the scene of violent conflict between the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N) and Sudanese army since 2011.
In a press conference held in Khartoum on the occasion of the World Humanitarian Day, Ruedas highlighted the humanitarian situation in Sudan and efforts exerted by the international aid groups to address it.
“In collaboration with national partners, last year 3.3 million people across Sudan received humanitarian assistance, including food, shelter, clean water, healthcare and education. This assistance was delivered by over 8,000 aid workers, over 98 percent of whom are Sudanese,” she said.
She disclosed that about 160,000 people have been affected by the floods in Sudan, pointing to the destruction of thousands of homes.
Ruedas added that her team works with the Sudanese government and the concerned bodies to meet needs of those affected by floods, expressing readiness to intervene to provide humanitarian aid at any location.
Regarding the humanitarian conditions in Blue Nile and South Kordofan, the UN official stressed the two areas suffer from a real humanitarian problems that must be addressed as soon as possible.
She said that children in the Two Areas have been vaccinated for five years, pointing that people suffer from severe acute malnutrition due to lack of food and agricultural land.
Ruedas added the delivery of humanitarian aid to the needy population in the Two Areas requires a political agreement between the warring parties.
“Without reaching an agreement, we wouldn’t be able to deliver the assistance” she said.
However, the UN official pointed they would talk to the government and the SPLM-N to agree on a mechanism to deliver food to the needy in the Two Areas.
On Sunday, the Sudanese government and SPLM-N concluded a four-day round of talks in Addis Ababa without reaching an agreement on humanitarian access.
Reudas pointed that they responded to 100,000 cases of severe acute malnutrition as well as hundreds of thousands of medium acute malnutrition cases.
The UN official further urged donors to meet their pledges towards the needy population in Sudan, saying her team hasn’t received the required funding to implement its humanitarian aid plan in Sudan.
(ST)