UN says $4 bn needed to aid those impacted by Sudan war

In a plea for $4.1 billion on Wednesday, the UN warned that the fighting had caused “epic suffering” and asked for help to be given to residents in war-torn Sudan and those who had left as refugees.

Approximately 25 million people, or more than half of the nation’s population, are in need of aid and safety as a result of the horrific violence that broke out in April of last year and precipitated a humanitarian crisis.

“Ten months of conflict have robbed the people of Sudan of nearly everything – their safety, their homes and their livelihoods,” United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths said in a statement.

UN analysts estimate that thousands of people have died in the conflict between Sudan’s army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), including between 10,000 and 15,000 in a single city in the western Darfur area.

Additionally, the battle in Sudan is becoming more intense, which has led to widespread famine and severe food insecurity for almost 18 million people.

Meanwhile, the heavy fighting is still causing damage to vital civilian infrastructure, like as water supply networks, and has forced roughly three-quarters of health institutions in areas hit by violence out of operation.

In addition, illnesses including malaria, measles, and cholera are rapidly spreading.

This coupled with soaring malnutrition rates has created a situation where at least one child dies every two hours in the sprawling Zamzam camp for displaced people in the western Darfur region, the Doctors Without Borders charity warned this week.

Amid widespread reports of gender-based violence, the war has also created one of the world’s largest protection and displacement crises.

Nearly eight million people have fled their homes, including more than 1.5 million who have crossed into neighbouring countries, according to UN figures.

The UN and its partners said they needed $2.7 billion this year to reach 14.7 million people with desperately-needed aid inside the country.

“The generosity of donors helps us provide food and nutrition, shelter, clean water, and education for children, and to fight the scourge of gender-based violence and care for the survivors,” Griffiths said.

“But last year’s appeal was less than half funded. This year, we must do better and with a heightened sense of urgency.”

The UN refugee agency UNHCR meanwhile said it needs another $1.4 billion to help nearly 2.7 million people — refugees and members of their host communities — across five of Sudan’s neighbouring countries.