Sudan: Humanitarian Update, 14 August 2023 [EN/AR]

HIGHLIGHTS

• More than 4 million people have been displaced inside and outside the country due to the conflict that erupted on 15 April between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

• About 71 per cent of the nearly 3.3 million people displaced internally are originally from Khartoum.

• Between 3 and 5 August, a World Food Programme (WFP) convoy carrying food assistance reached West Darfur State for the first time since the conflict erupted in mid-April.

• Up to 13,500 people have reportedly been affected by heavy rains and flooding in North Darfur, Northern and White Nile states.

• Humanitarian partners reached about 2.9 million people with life-saving assistance across the country between April and 15 July 2023.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

As the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continues across the country, more people are being displaced and humanitarian needs are increasing daily. To date, more than 4 million people have been displaced inside and outside the country due to the conflict that erupted on 15 April. Nearly 3.3 million people have been displaced internally as of 8 August, according to the International Organization for Migration Displacement Tracking Matrix (IOM DTM). People have been displaced across all 18 states.

The majority are in River Nile, Northern, North Darfur and White Nile states. About 71 per cent of internally displaced people (IDPs) are originally from Khartoum.

The Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, issued a statement on 9 August calling on parties to the conflict to allow civilians safe passage out of conflict zones in Khartoum, Darfur and other areas of active hostilities.

She noted that this was agreed in Jeddah on 11 May 2023 by the signatories to the Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan and urged the parties to follow through on their commitments to respect international humanitarian law and human rights law.

On 11 August, the World Food Programme (WFP) highlighted a major breakthrough: For the first time since the start of the conflict in mid-April, a WFP convoy was able to deliver food assistance to West Darfur State. Five trucks transporting 125 metric tonnes (MT) of food supplies crossed the border from eastern Chad to West Darfur, where one month’s worth of food assistance was delivered for around 15,400 people in the villages of Adikong, Shukri and Jarabi between 3 and 5 August. The situation in the Darfur region, particularly in West and Central Darfur, is dire, with towns and villages abandoned following a mass exodus of people due to the conflict. Those who remain are mostly women and their children, who are acutely vulnerable and have not fled because they are too scared to leave, according to WFP. These families are barely surviving: Most are eating just one meal a day, sharing what food they have with neighbours and selling what they own simply to afford food. Some markets are beginning to reopen, with limited food coming in from Chad, but WFP reports that food is still their most urgent need.

On 8 August, Save the Children (SC) issued a statement on the serious health risks in Khartoum State, with thousands of corpses reportedly decomposing on the streets and morgues at a breaking point due to power outages and insufficient capacity to store the bodies. As there is no medical staff left at the morgues, the bodies are being left untreated, according to the Sudanese Doctors Syndicate, a doctor's union. Out of 89 main hospitals in the capital and states, 71 are out of service, with the remainder operating at partial capacity. Some health facilities have been occupied by armed groups, taking life-saving treatment away from millions of children and their families.
The Regional Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Ahmed AlMandhari, warned on 10 August that 39 per cent of Sudan’s population is expected to be malnourished over the next six months due to fighting that since mid-April has limited people’s access to medicines, medical supplies, electricity and water.
While the conflict has affected health services in states directly impacted by the fighting, states that have not witnessed active conflict are also suffering from the lack of supplies, especially as newly displaced people are arriving from conflict areas. Currently, an estimated 11 million people in Sudan need urgent health assistance, including about 4 million children and pregnant and breastfeeding women who are acutely malnourished, and more than 100,000 children under the age of five with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) with medical complications who need specialized care at stabilization centres. Hospitals, ambulances, supplies, warehouses, health workers and patients have been attacked in Sudan.
Through the Surveillance System on Attacks on Health Care (SSA), WHO has verified 53 attacks on health care, including 11 deaths and 38 injuries between 15 April and 13 August 2023.
There have been reports of up to 13,500 people affected by heavy rains and flooding in North Darfur, Northern and White Nile states. In North Darfur, heavy rains reported in El Fasher Town between 5 and 8 August destroyed the homes of more than 1,300 IDP families, affecting about 10,000 people in Zamzam and As Salam displacement camps, according to IOM DTM. In addition, about 360 latrines were destroyed and 440 others damaged. People newly displaced in Zamzam and As Salam IDP camps reportedly do not have any shelter from the rain and are exposed to critical protection and health risks. Protection partners reported cases of sexual harassment in overcrowded shelter spaces during the rain.
Health partners noted that to avoid this overcrowding and its consequences, girls preferred to stay outside in the yard under the trees, exposing themselves to health risks. The rains are also leading to the deterioration of the hygiene and sanitation situation, with reports of open defecation and high rates of diarrhoea and infections among IDPs. The official state news agency SUNA reported that heavy rains have affected Dongola, Merowe, Ad Dabbah, Al Golid, Al Burgaig and Halfa localities of Northern State, leading to the destruction of and damage to homes and farms. Preliminary reports suggest that a total of 300 homes have been destroyed or damaged, affecting about 1,500 people, according to SUNA. In White Nile State, heavy rains on 1 August reportedly destroyed 90 homes (affecting 450 people), damaged 310 homes (affecting 1,550 people), and killed three people in Aj Jabalain Town, Aj Jabalain locality. The people whose homes were destroyed have reportedly taken refuge in a mosque in the neighbourhood. The exact number of people affected by the floods has yet to be verified.
In 2022, heavy rains affected about 349,000 people across 15 states in Sudan, with 24,859 homes destroyed and 48,250 homes damaged. The rainy season is expected to significantly heighten risks of vector-borne disease outbreaks, as stagnant pools of water become breeding grounds for water-borne and vector-borne diseases such as cholera, dengue fever, rift valley fever and chikungunya.

As conflict continues across the country, some 7 million children are out of school in Sudan, and violence and displacement are putting children at grave risk. On 4 August, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) announced US$5 million in new funding for education in emergencies response in Sudan. The one-year grant will allow Save the Children (SC) and the UN Children’s Agency (UNICEF) to reach 86,000 vulnerable school-aged girls and boys who have been affected by the conflict in West Darfur and White Nile states. Activities will focus on improving access to quality, inclusive, gendersensitive and child-friendly education by supporting learning centers, and ensuring teachers are trained and have the tools and incentives to do their jobs.

Despite a multitude of access challenges, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) led on-theground access and Civil-Military Coordination negotiations that have facilitated the movement of 673 trucks in June and July, carrying nearly 31,000 metric tons (MT) of relief items to vulnerable and displaced people in need. The active deconfliction and access negotiation system has allowed humanitarian partners to deliver relief items to Khartoum (2,892 MT), North Darfur (550 MT), North Kordofan (180 MT), South Kordofan (810 MT), West Kordofan (420 MT) and White Nile (10,897 MT). This included 30,300 MT of food items, 160 MT of emergency shelter and non-food items, and 170 MT of health and nutrition supplies. In July, 13 new localities were reached for the first time since 15 April through the OCHA Humanitarian Information Sharing Mechanism. These include Abu Jubayhah and Abassiya in South Kordofan, Ar Rahad and El Obeid of North Kordofan, An Nuhud and El Fula of West Kordofan, and seven localities in East Darfur including Ad Du'ayn, Abu Jabrah Abu Karinka, Adila, Assalaya, Bahr Al Arab, Al Firdous, Yassin and Shia'ria.