Sudan crisis demands ‘sustained and urgent attention’

Briefing ambassadors in the Security Council, the director of operations at the UN office for coordination of humanitarian affairs issued an urgent plea for international support to address the concerning toll of the ongoing Sudan crisis.

Opposition militaries are fighting a brutal conflict for more than 1.5 years. The senior UN official described the situation in the country as a “crisis of staggering scale and cruelty”. “It demands sustained and urgent attention,” she added.

Sudan sees humanitarian and refugee crisis

Intense fighting continues to rage in densely populated areas of Sudan. Since the beginning of the recent internal conflict, more than 12 million people or nearly one-fourth of Sudan’s population have been displaced.

More than 3.2 million people are believed to have already fled to neighbouring countries as refugees, further straining already fragile infrastructure in many nations. The death toll is alarming, to say the least.

The people of Sudan continue to face killings, sexual abuse and limited essential infrastructure such as healthcare and education facilities. Deadly diseases are also spreading rapidly across the country. Hunger and malnutrition are also rife.

Urgent financial funding to tackle Sudan crisis

UN emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher recently visited Sudan and neighboring Chad. In the latter nation, he announced an immediate allocation of $5 million to support local and international responders trying to help Sudanese refugees.

In order to address the Sudan crisis, financial resources need to be offered at scale to tackle major funding gaps. The director of operations at the UN office for coordination of humanitarian affairs urged donors to meet the $6 billion humanitarian funding required.