Attachments
U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)
FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)
Note: The last situation report was dated November 6, 2009.
BACKGROUND
In 2009, Sudan continues to cope with the effects of conflict, displacement, and insecurity countrywide. Since 2003, a complex emergency in Sudan's western region of Darfur has affected more than 4.7 million people, including nearly 2.7 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). In Darfur, conflict continues among armed opposition factions, the Sudanese Armed Forces, militias, and ethnic groups. Since 2006, humanitarian agencies have experienced reduced access to affected populations due to increased insecurity, targeted attacks against aid workers, and bureaucratic impediments to program implementation.
The National Congress Party and the southern-based Sudan People's Liberation Movement continue to implement the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) through the joint Government of National Unity (GNU). The formation of the GNU officially ended more than two decades of north-south conflict. During the conflict, famine, fighting, and disease killed more than 2 million people, forced an estimated 500,000 Sudanese to seek refuge in neighboring countries, and displaced an additional 4 million individuals within Sudan. The U.N. estimates that since 2005, more than 2.2 million people have returned to Southern Sudan and the Three Areas of Southern Kordofan, Blue Nile, and Abyei, straining scarce resources and weak infrastructure. In eastern Sudan, the GNU and the Eastern Front opposition coalition signed the Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement in 2006. However, humanitarian needs persist in the area, which has experienced slow recovery following decades of conflict. Access to the east remains restricted due to GNU control on travel.
Since March 2009, humanitarian agencies have encountered further reduced access to affected populations in Darfur and the Three Areas following the GNU-mandated expulsion of 13 international humanitarian organizations and closure of three national humanitarian agencies. Remaining relief organizations, in coordination with the Sudanese government, have implemented short-term measures and expanded existing programs and areas of operation to prevent deterioration of humanitarian conditions in Darfur and GNU-controlled regions of the Three Areas; however, the quality and sustainability of the humanitarian services provided remains tenuous.
The U.S. Government (USG) is the largest bilateral donor to Sudan and has contributed more than $3.9 billion for humanitarian programs in Sudan since FY 2004. During FY 2009, USAID provided more than $687 million to support humanitarian activities in Sudan. The USG continues to support implementation of the CPA and joins the international community in seeking a peaceful resolution to the Darfur conflict. On October 1, 2009, U.S. Chargé d'Affaires, a.i., Mark L. Asquino renewed the disaster declaration for the complex emergency in Sudan for FY 2010. The U.S. Mission in Sudan has declared disasters due to the complex emergency annually since 1987.