UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 9 — UN humanitarians on Thursday sounded the alarm at the impact of ongoing violence in Sudan on civilians, who are also facing rising hunger and climate shocks driven by El Nino.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that local sources reported four people were killed on Wednesday in a drone strike in Ed Damazine, the capital of Blue Nile state.
The International Organization for Migration said that on Tuesday, more than 1,200 people were displaced from several Blue Nile villages in the Wad Al Mahi locality, following earlier waves of displacement, with more than 12,400 people reportedly displaced since late September.
OCHA said humanitarians are stepping up operations in Blue Nile. Since early September, a humanitarian partner has built 150 emergency latrines and distributed personal hygiene kits to more than 4,000 people at the Al Karama displacement site. Over the past week, another partner has provided essential medicines to 50 health facilities across Ed Damazine and the locality of Baw.
In East Darfur state, OCHA said its humanitarian partners reported that more than 22,000 people, including refugees and the internally displaced, face severe humanitarian needs in the villages of Um Abariq, Um Ghubaisah and Um Eid.
The office said its partners warned that failed seasonal rains attributed to El Nino have reduced agricultural production, with less than a quarter of cultivated land reportedly yielding a harvest.
Their assessment also found medicine shortages, while disruptions to education heighten concerns about children’s safety and well-being. OCHA called for the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, as well as additional funding, to enable the United Nations and its partners to scale up life-saving assistance for people in need.
Less than three months before the end of the year, the response plan for Sudan, which requires 3 billion U.S. dollars, is just 43 percent funded, the office said. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
