$445M NEEDED DUE TO RISING NUMBERS OF PEOPLE FLEEING SUDAN: UNHCR

Thu 04 May 2023:

The UN agency for refugees announced on Thursday that it expects 860,000 refugees and returnees to leave Sudan and that it will require $445 million in funding from partners to sustain the displaced population until October, Anadolu Agency reported.

According to a statement from the UNHCR, the Regional Refugee Response Plan for Sudan would largely address immediate assistance in the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Chad, Egypt, and South Sudan.

According to the release, the strategy was created in cooperation with 134 partners, including UN agencies, national and international NGOs, and civil society organizations.

“The humanitarian situation in and around Sudan is tragic – there are food, water and fuel shortages, limited access to transport, communications and electricity, and skyrocketing prices of basic items,”Raouf Mazou, UNHCR’s assistant high commissioner for operations, said.

“UNHCR and partners have emergency teams in place and are assisting authorities with technical support, registering arrivals, carrying out protection monitoring and strengthening reception to ensure urgent needs are met,” Mazou said. “This is just a start. More help is urgently needed.”

The UNHCR said the 860,000 figure is a rough estimate for financial and operational planning. Sudanese would make up around 580,000 of the total, with 235,000 refugees previously sponsored by Sudan coming home in difficult conditions and 45,000 refugees of other nationalities formerly accommodated by Sudan, it added.

Most people are likely to arrive in Egypt and South Sudan.

Over 330,000 people have already been displaced within Sudan as a result of the current fighting, with an additional 100,000 refugees and returnees fleeing the country, according to the agency.

Since the start of the clashes on April 15, more than 550 people have been killed and more than 5,000 others injured, according to the Sudanese Health Ministry.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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