13 March
Save the Children warns that without immediate funding, nearly 230,000 vulnerable individuals in Sudan, including children and pregnant women, could succumb to hunger-related causes. Over 2.9 million children suffer from acute malnutrition, with 729,000 facing severe acute malnutrition, demanding urgent medical attention to prevent complications like dehydration and hypoglycemia. (Source)
11 March
In response to the emergence of variant poliovirus type 2 detected in Port Sudan, Sudan’s Ministry of Health, supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), is set to launch a polio vaccination campaign in April 2024. Field investigations and a risk assessment have been conducted to determine the virus’s extent, and preparations are underway for the campaign in several states, with a tailored approach based on local conditions. (Source)
8 March
The UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell, warns that Sudan’s brutal war is pushing the country toward famine, causing the world’s largest child displacement crisis, with escalating severe malnutrition and outbreaks of diseases. She called for urgent action that is needed to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe, requiring $240 million for UNICEF’s famine prevention response by the end of March. (Source)
6 March
United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director Cindy McCain warns that Sudan’s war could escalate into the world’s largest hunger crisis, urging an end to the conflict as over 25 million people in Sudan, South Sudan, and Chad face deteriorating food security.
WFP faces challenges delivering emergency food assistance to communities in inaccessible areas due to ongoing violence and interference by warring parties, with 90% of those in Sudan facing emergency hunger levels located in such zones. (Source)
4 March
Addressing the 37th session of the FAO Regional Ministerial Conference for the Near East and North Africa, the Director-General of FAO, QU Dongyu, expressed great concern about the situations in Gaza, along with prolonged crises in Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. (Source)
1 March
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, expresses increasing concern about a potential surge in refugees crossing from Darfur to Chad in the coming weeks due to a critical lack of food and essentials.
With almost a year since the start of the civil war in Sudan, Chad urgently requires additional humanitarian aid and substantial development investment to stabilize its socio-economic environment, particularly in Eastern refugee-hosting regions, to sustain its open-door policy towards refugees amid the ongoing crisis.
29 February
The UN Secretary-General expressed deep appreciation for all personnel of the UN Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) and emphasized that the UN remains committed to providing humanitarian assistance despite ongoing heavy fighting and a worsening humanitarian crisis. Calling on Sudan’s warring parties to cease hostilities, Mr Guterres urged a commitment to broad-based peace talks and the transition to a civilian-led democratic government.
28 February
A wheat shipment donated by Ukraine to the UN World Food Programme (WFP) for Sudan has arrived in Port Sudan, with the in-kind donation covering a core part of food rations for one million conflict-affected people for a month.
Part of Ukraine’s ‘Grain from Ukraine’ initiative, facilitated by the German Federal Foreign Office, the 7,600 tonnes of wheat will assist families grappling with food insecurity amid Sudan’s prolonged conflict, arriving at a crucial time ahead of the lean season in May. Eddie Rowe, WFP’s Country Director in Sudan, emphasizes the urgent need to address the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Sudan.
26 February
Expressing deep concern, the Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, voiced alarm over reported attacks on volunteers, including Emergency Response Rooms, emphasizing the need for local responders to conduct critical humanitarian work safely. Ms. Nkweta-Salami stressed that civilians, including humanitarian workers, should not be targeted.
23 February
A comprehensive report from the UN Human Rights Office reveals that the armed conflict in Sudan has resulted in widespread civilian casualties, millions displaced, looting of property, and the conscription of children. The document outlines indiscriminate attacks by both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in densely populated areas, including sites for internally displaced people in Khartoum, Kordorfan, and Darfur, spanning April to December 2023.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk emphasizes the ongoing senseless conflict and human rights violations, expressing deep concern over the persisting crisis in Sudan.
22 February
Through the Zero-Dose Immunization Programme (ZIP), one million life-saving vaccine doses have been administered to children in Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan. This initiative, funded by Gavi and led by the International Rescue Committee (IRC), addresses the challenge of vaccinating children in hard-to-reach areas where government health services are limited, with over half of the 2.71 million children under five in the region never having received a vaccine.
Thabani Maphosa, Managing Director at Gavi, emphasises the importance of innovative partnerships to ensure vulnerable children, often overlooked by traditional health systems, receive essential vaccines.
20 February
Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths has released $100 million from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to aid underfunded humanitarian crises in seven countries across Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Sudan, and Syria receiving $20 million each.
This allocation, one of the smallest in recent years for the world’s least-financed crises, highlights the challenge of dwindling donor funding, falling to its lowest level since 2018, in addressing escalating humanitarian needs.