Highlights
▪ In Sudan, humanitarian access has improved in parts of White Nile State, allowing aid organizations to resume critical activities, including food distribution and border monitoring, which were previously halted due to clashes during the month of December.
▪ In South Sudan, UNHCR's Rapid Intention Survey revealed that while the majority of refugees and returnees who arrived in the last month prefer to stay in South Sudan, barriers to movement, including family reunification and mobility challenges, persist. Many Sudanese refugees indicated an intention to stay in border areas for now and are more likely to return to Sudan than South Sudanese returnees in the short term. Renk has seen a decrease in daily new arrivals, with 1,100 individuals arriving compared to a surge in December. However, WASH gaps continue in communities hosting refugees, as resources remain insufficient to meet the needs of the growing population.
▪ In Chad, discussions are underway to secure 100 hectares of land for the World Bank-funded HAGUINA project, aimed at empowering refugees and indigenous communities in agriculture and livestock production. The project, supervised by WFP, UNHCR, the government of Chad, and other partners, aims to support 800 beneficiaries (400 refugees and 400 indigenous people). In addition, the initiative aims to rehabilitate 100,000 hectares of agricultural and pastoral land over five years, benefiting 500,000 farmers and herders from food-insecure refugees and host communities.
▪ In Libya, over 38,600 Sudanese refugees have been registered since April 2023, with ongoing challenges in issuing Security Registration Cards due to limited capacity in Benghazi. WASH infrastructure in eastern Libya is overstretched, raising the risk of disease outbreaks, and urgent improvements in water and latrine access are needed.