Humanitarian Bulletin Sudan Issue 20 | 12-18 May 2014 [EN/AR]

HIGHLIGHTS

• ICRC cuts down the number of its Sudanese staff by 30% amid lack of progress in the resumption of its activities in Sudan.

• Some 38,000 IDPs and South Sudanese arrivals need relief assistance in West Kordofan, according to humanitarian organisations.

• UNHCR reports that 81,500 people arrived from South Sudan in Sudan, an increase of some 800 people from the last week.

• SRCS and SMoH report major gaps in terms of access to sanitation and potable water for 10,000 newly displaced in Rashad town, South Kordofan.

FIGURES

IDPs in Darfur – in 2013 - 2 million, in 2014 (to date) - 306,000

Refugees in Sudan (UNHCR) 157,000

Sudanese refugees in Chad (UNHCR) 353,000

Sudanese refugees in South Sudan & Ethiopia (UNHCR) 249,000

Impact of continuing suspension of ICRC work

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) issued a statement on 19 May 2014 expressing its regret that it has not been permitted to resume operations in Sudan. The suspension of ICRC’s work in Sudan on 1 February has had a significant impact on people affected by armed conflict, particularly those people who have been displaced in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan in the past few months, ICRC said.

Citing technical issues, ICRC's operations in Sudan were suspended by the Government of Sudan’s Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC), asking ICRC to review its 1984 agreement that outlined the organisation's legal and diplomatic status in the country.

ICRC said that after weeks of constructive negotiations, delays occurred and little progress was achieved. After its humanitarian activities were suspended, the ICRC said it had no alternative but to significantly reduce its workforce in Sudan. "We deeply regret having to lay off 195 of our 650 Sudanese staff, but we have no choice," ICRC said.

Last year, some 1.5 million people in Sudan received aid from ICRC. This includes more than 426,000 Sudanese living in areas affected by conflict received food and over 325,000 receiving farming tools and seeds. In Darfur, access to clean water was reportedly improved for over 708,000 people. More than 72,500 patients visited ICRC-supported health facilities last year and over 1,400 persons injured in armed clashes were treated with medical supplies provided by the ICRC