The people of Sudan are facing a devastating four-month humanitarian crisis marked by unimaginable violence and suffering. Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, laid out the gravity of the situation. After four months of conflict, battle lines are consolidating, making it difficult to reach millions of people in urgent need of humanitarian aid. Under Secretary Griffiths also drew attention to recent discoveries of mass graves in West Darfur, highlighting concern about a possible resurgence of ethnic killings in the region.
According to UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, more than 2.6 million people have been internally displaced in Sudan since the conflict began on April 15, while more than 730,000 have sought refuge in neighboring countries. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the violence has killed more than 1,100 people and injured more than 12,000. Health workers and medical facilities have been attacked, limiting access for those in need of treatment. Children have been particularly affected: in fact, an estimated 13.6 million (nearly half of Sudan's population) are in urgent need of care.
Undersecretary Griffiths described Sudan as one of the places where aid workers experience the greatest difficulties due to ongoing threats, but praised the collaborative efforts of local and international organizations in delivering life-saving supplies. WHO, the United Nations health agency, is working closely with Sudan's Ministry of Health and other partners to provide essential reproductive, sexual, maternal and pediatric care.
The United Nations called on the parties to the conflict to abide by the Declaration of Commitments they signed in Jeddah to protect civilians and comply with international humanitarian law and called for a redoubled effort to prevent the conflict in Sudan from escalating into a brutal and interminable civil war with serious consequences for the entire region.
To read more, please visit:
https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/07/1138747
https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/07/1138837
by Chiara Cacciatore
