The conflict that broke out between the Army and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (FAR) has deepened the needs of the population in Sudan, a large part of which has been forced to move or migrate. And, while the international community seeks to promote the arrival of humanitarian aid in the midst of Ramadan, around 230,000 children and mothers face hunger. “Sudan is one of the worst humanitarian disasters in living memory,” according to the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
“From any point of view – the magnitude of the humanitarian needs, the number of people displaced and threatened by hunger -, “Sudan is one of the worst humanitarian disasters in living memory,” declared Edem Wosornu before the Security Council on behalf of Martin Griffiths, head of the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
“More than a third of Sudan's population faces acute hunger. Hunger must not be used as a method of war. All parties must commit to ensuring full and unimpeded humanitarian access,” he warned on Wednesday, March 20.
Sudan continues to face the serious consequences of the confrontation that the Army and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (FAR) have maintained since April 2023.
Shortly after the first anniversary of the start of the conflict, the outlook is bleak. Currently, it is the country with one of the worst humanitarian crises, with 25 million people requiring help. As a result of the civil war, almost 14,000 people have died – according to UN data – and eight million are displaced or refugees, the largest wave of migration today.
In this framework, the international community is alert to Sudanese needs.
The United States announced that it will contribute more than 47 million dollars for humanitarian aid.
However, it is still insufficient. In addition to Sudan's needs being severe, assistance is also for South Sudan and Chad, two territories whose situations were worsened by the high demand from displaced Sudanese.
Since the beginning of the civil war, the FAR managed to take over part of the national capital and the city of Um Durman, neighboring Khartoum.
Through a statement, the United States Department of State highlighted that they are around 25 million people – approximately half of the inhabitants – need help.
Children and women, at the center of danger
According to the organization Save the Children, almost 230,000 children, pregnant women and new mothers could die in the country due to hunger. The NGO stressed the need to increase funds.
Through a statement published last week, the entity detailed:
More than 2.9 million Sudanese children suffer from acute malnutrition and another 729,000 children under five suffer from severe acute malnutrition, the most dangerous and deadly form of extreme hunger.
Data presented by Save the Children indicate that the humanitarian aid that has arrived in Sudan barely covers 5.5% of the needs. However, it clarifies that access possibilities have “unprecedented” problems due to the fierce combat between the factions.
The director of the NGO, Arif Noor, regretted that the world looked “the other way” and assured that the situation is “one of the worst in the world” with “widespread hunger, death and suffering.”
On the other hand, on Monday, March 18, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child asked the parties involved to take urgent measures to end human rights violations against minors.
The organization warned that, if things continue as they have been, 24 million young people will suffer a “generational catastrophe.”
To the numbers provided by Save the Children, the UN added that 19 million children are not going to school and that Sudan has the largest child displacement crisis in the world.
In addition to the lack of assistance, the UN warned that cases of sexual violence and the recruitment of children by the Army and the FAR are increasing.
Finally, the shortage of medical supplies led to more than 70% of hospitals closing, making healthcare services impossible for two-thirds of Sudanese.
A year of violence
In April 2023, Sudan further deepened its deep crisis of violence when tensions between the Army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces erupted into violent clashes in the capital, Khartoum, and other areas. from the country.
This situation is an episode related to the conflict that began in 2003, when rebels from the sub-Saharan ethnic community took up arms, denouncing discrimination and negligence on the part of the Government dominated by the Arab population in Khartoum.
At that point, President Omar al-Bashir responded with aerial bombardments and unleashed militias known as the Popular Defense Forces or the Janjaweed. This response led to the loss of up to 300,000 lives and displaced 2.7 million people.
Although the current war had purely political objectives at its beginning, attacks with ethnic overtones have been increasing throughout the country.
Last December, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, expressed his fears about an increase in ethnic confrontations within Sudan, also warning about constant reports of human rights violations in the conflict.
“Dozens of civilians, including medical personnel, were killed and many others injured between December 15 and 19, and some of these attacks were ethnically motivated,” Türk stressed in his statement.
The United Nations official added that his office has received multiple reports of mutilations, sexual assaults and extrajudicial murders, perpetrated by both sides, against hundreds of civilians, many for ethnic and racial reasons.
With EFE and Reuters
