Humanitarians urge Security Council to stop ‘freight train of suffering’ in Sudan
Edem Wosornu of the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs, OCHAand Stephen Omollo, Assistant Executive Director of the World Food Programme (World food program), briefed ambassadors after the event. recent confirmation Famine in Zamzam displacement camp, home to 500,000 people.
Zamzam is located near El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, and the Famine Assessment Commission also found that famine conditions were likely to occur in other refugee camps in and around the city.
We failed
“This announcement should give us all pause because when famine hits, it means we are too late. It means we have not done enough. It means we, the international community, have failed. This is an entirely man-made crisis and a shameful stain on our collective conscience.Ms. Wosornu, OCHA’s Director of Operations and Advocacy, said.
She recalled that humanitarians had warned the Council about the risk of widespread famine and insecurity in March and continued to sound the alarm in subsequent press conferences.
“Let me be clear: We can still stop the train of misery that is barreling through Sudan. But only if we respond with the urgency that this moment demands.,” she affirmed.
‘A quagmire of violence’
The Sudanese national army and a rival, formerly allied military force known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been fighting since April 2023, plunging “millions of civilians into a quagmire of violence and with it death, injury and inhumane treatment”.
A surprise 26 million people are facing acute hunger, which Ms Wosornu said is the equivalent of a “New York Times Three – full of starving families and malnourished children.”.” More than 10 million people have been forced to flee their homes, including some 726,000 displaced from Sennar state following recent RSF advances.
Sudan’s once bustling capital, Khartoum, now in ruinsThe national health care system has collapsed, and recent heavy rains in Kassala and North Darfur have increased the risk of cholera and other waterborne diseases. An entire generation of children is missing out on school for the second year in a row.
Caring for rape survivors
Ms. Wosornu also voiced deep concern about war crimes, in which women and girls are the most affected.
“Since our last press conference, New reports have revealed the horrific extent of conflict-related sexual violence in Khartoum targeting girls as young as nine,” she speaks.
“Access to emergency health care and gender-based violence services is shrinking. Suicide rates among survivors are rising. The number of children born as a result of rape is skyrocketing.”
Expanding aid activities
Despite the dire situation, humanitarian agencies and local partners continue to provide lifesaving assistance in Sudan and are expanding their “operational footprint” in areas where food insecurity is most acute.
She said they were “exploring every possible avenue to reach affected communities, including via air”, which would require obtaining the necessary permits to access the runway.
Humanitarian organizations also plan to distribute more than $100 million in cash and voucher assistance by the end of the year in areas with active markets. Other activities include providing seeds and other support to farmers.
Access and resources
“In short, we are pushing from every possible angle to prevent this disaster from getting worse, but We cannot go far without the necessary access and resources.,” she speaks.
At the same time, aid workers continue to be harassed, attacked and killed, while convoys transporting food, medicine and fuel are looted, extorted and obstructed.
She said three trucks carrying therapeutic food had been blocked by RSF for more than a month in Kabkabiya, located west of El Fasher, thus “depriving malnourished children in Zamzam camp of the support they desperately need to survive”.
‘Support delayed is support denied’
Furthermore, the recent escalation in Sennar has cut off the main southern route for delivering aid from the coastal city of Port Sudan to Kordofan and Darfur. Access via the northern route, through Ad Dabbah, has been disrupted by conflict, insecurity, obstructions and permit delays.
“Lifesaving supplies are ready to be loaded and transported to ZamZam in Port Sudan, including essential medicines, nutritional supplies, water purifiers, tablets and soap. It is important that the necessary approvals and security are not delayed,” she stressed.
Aid for refugee camps is also available in eastern Chad, but heavy rains have flooded the Tine border crossing – the only cross-border route open to humanitarian operations after Sudanese authorities revoked the Adre border crossing permit in February.
She said Adre – with its paved roads and shorter distance to Darfur – would be the most efficient route to deliver the large volumes of aid needed at this critical time.
“Delayed aid is denied aid to many starving Sudanese civilians while waiting for clearance, permits and flood waters to recede,” she warned.
Four main requirements
Ms. Wosurno reiterated the humanitarian community’s four key demands to the Council, starting with an end to the conflict.
She also called on the warring parties to fulfill their obligations under international law and ensure rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access on all possible routes.
“Given the ongoing famine crisis in North Darfur and other areas across the country, we need to reach people now – across borders, across front lines, by air, by land,” she stressed.
She also stressed the need for adequate funding to support relief operations. A $2.7 billion appeal for Sudan, launched earlier this year, has so far received $874 million, or just over 30 percent of the amount needed.
‘A wake-up call to the international community’
Mr. Omollo also reminded the ambassadors that for months, WFP and other humanitarian agencies have been warning of a widespread collapse in food security in Sudan.
“The situation across Sudan is dire, and worsening“, he say. “This neglected crisis has not received the political and diplomatic attention it so desperately needs.. However, it has broader implications and threatens to destabilize the wider region.”
Therefore, confirming the famine “must serve as a wake-up call to the international community and the members of this Council.”
He called for concerted diplomatic efforts to address the widespread operational challenges and obstacles facing aid agencies.
Meanwhile, WFP is significantly scaling up operations to prevent the spread of hunger, including providing a mix of in-kind food assistance, cash assistance and local procurement where feasible.
The UN agency aims to significantly increase the number of people it serves in Sudan, while also assisting refugees who have fled to Chad, South Sudan, Libya and other neighboring countries.
“Humanitarian agencies will do everything they can to prevent famine from engulfing Sudan. But we can only operate where conditions allow and where we have access,” he said.
“Now more than ever, we need Security Council focus on this crisis and use its influence on the warring parties to stop the conflict that is tearing Sudan apart.
