The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) painted a bleak .picture of the food situation in Sudan expected over the next year
AlTaghyeer : Sarah Taj al-Sir
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Monday that about 14.3 million Sudanese are in need of humanitarian assistance next year.
“Rising humanitarian needs, with the continuing economic crisis and food insecurity, have affected millions of people,” said the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator, Khardiata Lo Ndiaye, in the latest UNODC bulletin.
He added that 9.1 million of the 14.3 million people are in need of emergency assistance with critical physical and mental well-being needs.
Le Ndiaye explained that the 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan seeks to provide assistance and support to the most vulnerable people in Sudan.
According to the bulletin, the list includes “the internally displaced, people who have recently returned to their places of origin, the refugees the country is hosting, and the vulnerable Sudanese.”
The coordinator stressed that the plan addresses the specific needs of women, children, the disabled, and other vulnerable groups.
The bulletin stated that humanitarian partners are working to provide humanitarian assistance and support to 10.9 million of the most vulnerable people.
The cost of providing this aid was estimated at about $1.9 billion.
The UN official stated that the humanitarian response plan prioritizes assistance to the life-saving sectors for the most vulnerable people.
Revealing that the total financial requirements remained at the same level as last year, despite the increase in both needy and targeted persons by about one million and two million, respectively.
Priority will be given to life-sustaining services, such as basic health services, as well as prevention and treatment of waterborne and vector-borne diseases.
Among the plan’s priorities are “access to education, livelihoods, and water and sanitation.”
Efforts and Challenges
According to the UN, efforts continued this year to advance the political transition and peace process in Sudan, despite the great challenges.
The international organization cites progress in international debt relief, reforming the economy, achieving macroeconomic stability, taking measures to implement the Juba Peace Agreement, and addressing the needs of the most vulnerable.
The UN stressed that despite the implementation of a series of urgent and bold reforms, it will take some time before ordinary Sudanese begin to feel the effects of the daily changes.
Over the past year, humanitarian partners helped more than 7.4 million needy people in the country, despite the lack of funding.
About 5 million people received food and livelihood assistance.
2.4 million people have gained access to health services, and 1.4 million people were reached with water, sanitation, and hygiene services.
The United Nations acknowledges that in many cases the full package of assistance or the package of services provided was not sufficient.
.”The agencies had to scale down or scale back the response due to lack of funding,” the UN said
