The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), alongside 64 humanitarian and national civil society organizations, has appealed Monday for US$1 billion to provide essential humanitarian aid and protection to over 1.8 million people expected to arrive in five neighboring countries by the end of 2023, fleeing ongoing conflict in Sudan. One million refugees, returnees and foreign nationals have already crossed borders into the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan.
The 2023 Sudan Emergency Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRP) was launched in May 2023, revised in June 2023, and now again in August 2023 reflecting the dramatic and ongoing increases in external displacement from Sudan and the resulting unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
The estimate for those fleeing violence of more than 1.8 million people is more than a double of what the UN agency projected shortly after fighting erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on April 15. Forces from both sides have been battling for control of the country since hostilities erupted. Thousands of people have been reportedly killed in the conflict.
The US$1 billion amount represents a twofold increase from the original May estimate of the sum needed to address the crisis, as the number of displaced people and needs continue to soar. According to UNHCR, critical necessities include water, food, shelter, health services, cash aid, core relief items, and protection services.
“The crisis has triggered an urgent demand for humanitarian assistance, as those arriving in remote border areas find themselves in desperate circumstances due to inadequate services, poor infrastructure and limited access,” said Mamadou Dian Balde, UNHCR Regional Bureau Director for the East and Horn of Africa and Great Lakes, and Regional Refugee Coordinator for the Sudan Situation.
“Partners active in this response are making every effort to support those who are arriving and their hosts, but without enough donor resources, these efforts will be severely curtailed.”
The UN Refugee Agency said Monday the dire health situation among new arrivals was increasingly concerning and required urgent attention. High malnutrition rates, disease outbreaks such as cholera and measles, and related deaths were occurring in several receiving countries.
“It is deeply distressing to receive reports of children dying from diseases that are entirely preventable, should partners have had sufficient resources,” said Balde. “Action can no longer be delayed.”
The countries receiving people fleeing Sudan – Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan – were hosting hundreds of thousands of displaced people even before this crisis.
“Countries in the region are facing major challenges of their own, and yet they continue to show remarkable generosity, but we cannot take their hospitality for granted,” said Balde.
“The international community needs to stand in solidarity with host governments and communities and address the persistent underfunding of humanitarian operations. This is crucial to support individuals and communities in need, pending much-needed peace.”
The initial 2023 Sudan Emergency Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRP), first launched in May 2023, is severely underfunded. While needs have grown exponentially, donor resources have not kept pace. As of September 5, only 32.8 percent of the funds has been raised.
Humanitarian needs across the Sudan and in neighboring countries continue to rise as the situation deteriorates. In Sudan, the number of people in need of humanitarian aid stands now at 24.7 million people – more than half of Sudan’s population. Among them are over 13 million children in urgent need of lifesaving humanitarian support.
Hostilities in the country have continued since the outbreak of clashes in mid-April. The relentless fighting in Khartoum, in the Darfur region, and spread of the conflict to Kordofan region and other region of the nation in Northeast Africa has trapped civilians and made many areas inaccessible for urgently needed humanitarian aid to be safely delivered.
Since violence erupted in a power grab between the SAF and RSF more than four months ago, nearly 5 million people have been displaced. While 1 million women, men, and children have sought refuge in neighboring countries, more than 3.9 million people – Sudanese and refugees already residing in the country - are displaced within Sudan.
Hunger has reached record levels, with more than 20.3 million people across the country, over 42 percent of the population, facing acute hunger, including 6.3 million who are “one step away from famine.” According to the latest IPC food assessment in Sudan, the number of people projected to be food insecure between July and September has nearly doubled from the last analysis, conducted in May 2022.
The revised 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for Sudan calls for US$2.6 billion to provide lifesaving assistance to an estimated 18.1 million people inside the country by the end of this year. As of September 5, the HRP is only 26.4 percent funded.
Recently, Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, warned that “a protracted conflict in Sudan could tip the entire region into a humanitarian catastrophe.”
Further information
Full text: Sudan Emergency: Regional Refugee Response Plan - May to December 2023 (Revised August 2023), released September 4, 2023
https://data.unhcr.org/en/documents/download/103163