Sudan: Darfur Humanitarian Overview (8 March 2016)

HIGHLIGHTS

In Darfur, fighting between government forces and armed movements has continued in recent years, lately in the Jebel Marra area of Darfur. This continues to severely impact civilians, notably women and children. Inter-tribal tensions also continue to trigger conflict which causes displacement of civilians and disruption of basic services. Conflict also prevents the return of displaced people to their areas of origin. Access to some areas, including locations where there is active conflict, remains denied by parties to the conflict, including the government.

Over 2.6 million people remain internally displaced in Darfur, of whom 2 million are in need of humanitarian assistance. An additional 1.3 million refugees, residents and returnees in Darfur are also in need of humanitarian aid. In 2015, humanitarian organizations estimate that more than 177,000 people fled their homes due to conflict in Darfur, of whom close to 110,000 remain displaced. There are also reports of an additional 70,000 individuals who were displaced in Darfur in 2015, but humanitarian organizations have been unable to verify this figure due to lack of access. To date in 2016 more than 100,000 are estimated to have been displaced.

Since 2009, resources allocated to address humanitarian needs in Darfur have been insufficient, which, in addition to lack of access, has led to a drop in the number of aid workers. Prior to the 2009 expulsion of 13 INGOs there were 17,700 national and international aid workers in INGOs in Darfur. In 2015 there were 5,058 aid workers (a decrease of over 70 per cent), 97 per cent of whom are national staff, in INGOs in Darfur