“By all measures — the sheer scale of humanitarian needs, the numbers of people displaced and facing hunger — Sudan is one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory,” Edem Wosornu, a UN official, states.
The United Nations has warned that Sudan is experiencing one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent memory after over a year of fighting, criticizing the international community for taking no action.
Director of Operations at the UN Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs [UNOCHA], Edem Wosornu, declared on Wednesday that Sudan is “one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory” due to “the sheer scale of humanitarian needs, the numbers of people displaced and facing hunger.”
“A humanitarian travesty is playing out in Sudan under a veil of international inattention and inaction,” Wosornu told the Security Council on behalf of UNOCHA head Martin Griffiths.
“Simply put, we are failing the people of Sudan,” she added, describing the population’s “desperation.”
Fighting between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, has since April killed tens of thousands and led to acute food shortages and a looming risk of famine.
The leading donor to Sudan, the United States, announced an additional $47 million in humanitarian aid.
The top US ambassador for refugees, Julieta Valls Noyes, announced the aid declaration in Chad during a meeting with Prime Minister Succes Masra. She said that the aid would go to neighboring countries that are hosting Sudanese migrants, such as South Sudan and Chad, which are among the world’s poorest countries.
The UN estimates that more than eight million people have been displaced as a result of the fighting.
The Security Council demanded earlier this month improved access to humanitarian aid and an urgent ceasefire throughout the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Wosornu informed the Council on Wednesday, “I regret to report that there has not been major progress on the ground.”
“Dreadful food insecurity”
Over 18 million Sudanese people experience acute food insecurity overall, which is a record during harvest season and 10 million more than this time last year. Additionally, 730,000 Sudanese children are believed to be severely malnourished.
Griffiths forewarned the Security Council this week that “nearly five million people could slip into catastrophic food insecurity in some parts of the country in the coming months” in a letter seen by the AFP news agency.
“Coordinated efforts and joined-up diplomacy is urgent and critical if we are going to prevent Sudan from becoming the world’s largest hunger crisis,” stated Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the UN World Food Programme, on Wednesday.
He issued a warning, stating that when the agricultural lean season starts in May, there is a “high risk” that the nation may experience famine and hunger.
According to Wosornu, malnutrition is “already claiming children’s lives,” and humanitarian specialists predict that 222,000 youngsters will pass away from it in the upcoming days, weeks, and months.
In addition, she pointed out that since over 70% of the nation’s health system has failed, children who are weak from malnutrition are more likely to die from other curable conditions.
SOURCE: TRTWORLD
