Written by: Hind Al-Maghribi
Thursday, May 18, 2023 12:08 PM
The United Nations launched two humanitarian response plans to provide food, health care, shelter, protection, and other necessary assistance to those affected by the fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces. With the conflict in Sudan entering its second month, the United Nations and its partners called for $3 billion to help millions of people inside Sudan. and hundreds of thousands who have had to flee to neighboring countries.
According to the United Nations Information Center, a joint statement issued by the UNHCR and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs confirmed that the humanitarian response plan for Sudan has been amended due to the significant increase in needs as a result of the current crisis, and the plan now requires the provision of $2.56 billion, an increase of $800 million over the plan. Originally drawn up before the fighting broke out to help 12.5 million people, the revised plan aims to help 18 million people until the end of the year, becoming the largest humanitarian appeal for Sudan.
The United Nations confirmed that the second plan is the Regional Refugee Response Plan for Sudan, which seeks to mobilize $470.4 million to support more than one million refugees, third-country refugee returnees, and host communities in the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Sudan.
“This conflict is a severe blow to the people of Sudan,” said UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths, stressing the readiness and strength of the humanitarian agencies’ determination to provide relief to those in need.
Griffiths added that the signing of the Declaration of Commitment to Protect Civilians – in Jeddah last week – was a welcome first step to protect civilians and ensure the safe delivery of aid, but now we need the support of the international community to expand our response and reach all those in need of assistance.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, said that countless people are still terrified inside Sudan – more than a month after the start of the crisis – and those who have fled across Sudan’s many borders need help as they often find themselves in hard-to-reach places. resources and deplete them.
Grandi stressed that relief workers are working hard to respond to these needs, and called on all countries and individuals able to provide the necessary resources so that humanitarian agencies can help people who have lost everything, and the fighting now taking place in Sudan has led to the internal displacement of more than 840,000 people. More than 220,000 Sudanese refugees and refugees from other countries have fled across the border.
