Aid agencies say Sudan faces catastrophic crisis and world is turning a blind eye

The United Nations and international agencies have warned that millions of lives are at risk as the world ignores the huge humanitarian needs facing Sudan’s war-torn country.

Sudan has endured a year of war that humanitarian agencies agree is causing one of the world’s worst man-made disasters. The World Health Organization said “the war has taken a staggering human toll”, killing more than 15,000 people and injuring an estimated 33,000.

“The reported number of casualties is probably an underestimate,” WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva on Friday.

“We also expect an increase in deaths across the population due to displacement, disease outbreaks, lack of access to care for other health problems, maternal and newborn health needs, and lack of food and water,” Lindmeier said.

According to a new report from the International Organization for Migration, 20,000 people are forced to flee their homes in Sudan every day, half of them children.

The International Organization for Migration said more than 8.6 million people have been displaced since the war broke out a year ago on April 15, including about 6.6 million in Sudan and 1.8 million as refugees in neighboring countries.

“Sudan is quickly becoming one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises in decades, and the conflict engulfing the country is putting pressure on the entire region,” said Amy Pope, Director General of the International Organization for Migration.

The World Health Organization also warned that Sudan could soon become one of the world’s worst hunger crises, as nearly 18 million people are suffering from severe hunger and a further 5 million are on the verge of famine.

However, WHO spokesman Lindmeier said, “This is just the tip of the iceberg of an increasingly desperate situation.”

“Time is running out. If the fighting does not stop and humanitarian aid is delivered unimpeded, the crisis in Sudan will worsen dramatically in the coming months and could affect the entire region.”

“Access for humanitarian actors is particularly restricted. Half of Sudan’s states are inaccessible. The regions of Darfur and Kordofan are inaccessible and humanitarian aid is cut off.”

Fighting between the Sudan National Army and the rival Rapid Support Forces militia began on April 15, 2023, with both sides trying to take control of the government. Both sides have made it difficult for aid groups and relief supplies to reach civilians.

“The situation in Sudan, which was already very fragile before the war, has now become catastrophic,” said Ozan Agbas, Médecins Sans Frontières’ emergency operations manager in Sudan.

“In many areas where Médecins Sans Frontières has begun emergency activities, we have yet to see the return of international humanitarian organizations that initially withdrew in April,” he said in a statement on Friday.

Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors Without Borders, accused the world of “turning a blind eye to warring parties deliberately blocking humanitarian access and the delivery of aid”, putting millions of people at risk.

On the first anniversary of Sudan’s conflict, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has urged warring parties to support a ceasefire and engage in dialogue “for the sake of humanity, for the people and for the children” who are suffering. ”

Speaking in Mombasa, Kenya, Farid Abdulkader, head of the IFRC delegation, described the huge toll the war has taken on the lives and livelihoods of the Sudanese people.

He said the conflict had destroyed the basic fabric of daily life across Sudan and that the country’s health system had collapsed and was unable to care for the population.

“Vital infrastructure has been destroyed; professionals from all walks of life have lost everything. While more than 700,000 children are at risk of malnutrition, the humanitarian consequences of the conflict are dire,” he said.

“But the worst part is people’s involvement in livelihoods and food production, which has implications now and into the future,”

A report released by the United Nations Development Program on Friday assesses the social and economic impact of armed conflict on rural communities.

The UNDP study surveyed more than 4,500 rural households across Sudan and concluded that the country faces a growing food security crisis.

The report said food production and supply chains were “disrupted by the ongoing war” and warned that “famine is expected to occur in Sudan in 2024”, particularly in the states of Khartoum, Jazira and Darfur and Kol. Dofan State.