EU and member states pledge 522 million EUR in humanitarian aid for Sudan
The European Union and several member states are pledging 522 million EUR in humanitarian aid for Sudan this year. The announcement was made on Tuesday during a donor conference in London.
European commissioner for crisis management, Hadja Lahbib, co-hosted the meeting in London attended by the EU, United Kingdom, Germany, France and the African Union, marking two years since the outbreak of conflict in Sudan.
"After two years of war, the situation in Sudan is devastating," said Lahbib who recently visited neighbouring Chad. "The conflict has led to famine in the country and the largest displacement crisis in the world. More than 15 million people have been forced from their homes. International humanitarian law is being violated on a large scale. We must keep Sudan high on the global agenda and uphold international humanitarian law."
"The humanitarian situation on the ground continues to deteriorate"
The European Commission has committed 282 million EUR, including 160 million EUR for emergency humanitarian aid within Sudan, 109 million EUR for neighbouring countries and 13 million EUR for stability efforts. The remaining 240 million EUR will come from contributions by Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
The funds aim to provide life-saving support in areas such as food, health care, water and sanitation, education and shelter, particularly for displaced people, refugees, and host communities.
Red Cross pauses aid
Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation on the ground continues to deteriorate. Earlier on Tuesday, the Red Cross announced it would halt aid operations in the Zamzam refugee camp after it was taken over by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces over the weekend. The camp, home to an estimated 700,000 people, has become too dangerous for aid workers to continue operating.
"It is extremely dangerous there, there is famine," said Derk Segaar, head of International Aid at the Red Cross. Eight field kitchens feeding 13,000 people have been shut down. “There is a really urgent task for the international community here.”
Since the conflict began, around 13 million people have been displaced, and half the population now requires food aid. Thousands of people, including unaccompanied minors in countries like the Netherlands, have contacted the Red Cross in search of missing family members. “Our aid workers are doing their utmost to put them in touch with their loved ones,” said Segaar.
The civil war, rooted in a power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Rapid Support Forces leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, shows no sign of resolution. Efforts to reach a ceasefire have so far failed.
© PHOTO NICHOLE SOBECKI / AFP
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