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The Humanitarian Situation in Sudan
Background
In 2008, Sudan continues to cope with the effects of conflict, displacement, and insecurity countrywide. In Sudan’s
western region of Darfur, fighting among armed opposition factions, Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), militias, and
ethnic groups is ongoing, displacing more than 80,000 people within Darfur and to Eastern Chad since January,
according to the U.N. Since 2003, the Darfur complex emergency has affected 4.2 million people, including more than
2.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs).
The former Government of Sudan (GOS) and the southern-based Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM)
continue to implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) through the joint Government of National Unity
(GNU). The GNU was formed in 2005, when the parties signed the CPA and officially ended more than two decades of
conflict between the north and the south. During the conflict, famine, fighting, and disease killed more than 2 million
people, forced an estimated 600,000 Sudanese to seek refuge in neighboring countries, and displaced 4 million others
within Sudan. The U.N. estimates that nearly 2 million people displaced during the conflict have returned to Southern
Sudan and the Three Areas of Southern Kordofan, Blue Nile, and Abyei since 2005, taxing scarce resources and weak
infrastructure. In eastern Sudan, the GNU and the Eastern Front opposition coalition signed a peace agreement in 2006.
The U.S. Government (USG) is the leading international donor to Sudan and has contributed more than $3 billion for
humanitarian programs in Sudan and eastern Chad since FY 2004. The USG continues to support the implementation
of the CPA and joins the international community in seeking a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Darfur. On October
11, 2007, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Alberto M. Fernandez renewed the disaster declaration for the complex emergency in
Sudan for FY 2008.
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Estimated Numbers Affected | Source |
|---|
| Internally Displaced People in Sudan |
From Southern Sudan: 2.7 million
In Darfur: 2.45 million
In Eastern Sudan: 168,000 |
UNHCR (1)- Nov. 2007
OCHA(2) – January 2008
U.N. Sept. 2007 |
| Sudanese Refugees | From Darfur: 240,000
From Southern Sudan: 255,000 |
UNHCR – Feb. 2008
UNHCR - Dec. 2007 |
| Refugees in Sudan |
From Eritrea, Ethiopia, Uganda, DRC, and others: 215,630 |
UNHCR – Dec. 2007 |
| Humanitarian Funding Provided to Date (FY 2007 AND FY 2008) | |
| USAID/OFDA(3) Assistance to Sudan and Eastern Chad | $188,772,610 |
| USAID/FFP(4) Assistance to Sudan and Eastern Chad | $830,881,800 |
| State/PRM(6) Assistance to Sudan and Eastern Chad | $124,129,132 |
| Total USAID and State Humanitarian Assistance to Sudan and Eastern Chad | $1,019,654,410 |
1 Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees
2 U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
3 USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance
4 USAID’s Office of Food for Peace
5 U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration
Current Situation in Darfur
In March, continued attacks in Darfur resulted in new
displacement and further limited humanitarian access.
Banditry and hijacking of relief vehicles and supplies
throughout Darfur hampered humanitarian operations
in the area. Relief agencies are also responding to
localized food insecurity in South Darfur.
Security and Humanitarian Access
Since December, armed clashes between the SAF and
the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) opposition
group in northern West Darfur have limited
humanitarian access in the area. The clashes were
ongoing as of March 18, according to OCHA.
According to humanitarian agencies working in
northern West Darfur, the SAF and armed militias
continue to attack and harass residents in and near
Silea town, causing displacement. On March 18, the
SAF reportedly opened fire on IDPs living in a
makeshift camp near an SAF base, killing three, after
accusing the IDPs of supporting JEM. The IDPs had
fled militia attacks and harassment in Silea town. The
U.N. has also reported incidents of SAF sexual
harassment of civilians in the makeshift camp. As a
result of the worsening security situation, the U.N. and
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) reported that
IDPs have moved from the makeshift camp to one of
three areas: Manjura village, approximately 10 km
northwest of Silea town; Silea town; or the Chadian
border area. On March 23, relief workers reported that
the makeshift camp near the SAF base was empty.
Despite limited access, USAID partners are providing
food assistance and relief commodities in the Silea
area and other affected communities in northern West
Darfur. USAID partners travel daily by helicopter to
the area, returning to El Geneina the same afternoon,
in order to provide basic humanitarian services.
Bandits and other armed assailants continue to target
humanitarian workers throughout Darfur. On March
19, OCHA reported that, since January, 3 humanitarian
staff have been killed, 3 have been injured, and 55
have been kidnapped. Since January, relief agencies
have reported 61 hijackings of humanitarian vehicles
and 3 attacks on relief convoys. According to the U.N.
World Food Program (WFP), 36 WFP-contracted
trucks and 24 drivers remain missing. On March 24,
unidentified gunmen killed a WFP-contracted driver
and seriously injured the driver’s assistant on the road
to Nyala, South Darfur. On April 1, WFP-contracted
drivers blocked a main road north of Nyala to protest
the deteriorating security situation and demand
additional security measures for contracted
humanitarian vehicles.
On March 20, unidentified assailants attacked a GNU
Office of Water and Environmental Sanitation (WES)
team of engineers in North Darfur. The bandits
abducted nine GNU WES team members, hijacked
four vehicles, and stole a drilling rig used to construct
boreholes that provide safe drinking water for area
residents. The U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF),
which provides support for GNU WES water,
sanitation, and hygiene programs in Darfur, strongly
condemned the attacks. The bandits released the GNU
WES staff, but the drilling equipment, valued at
$1 million, remains missing, delaying work on 110
water points in Darfur.
Population Movements
According to a March 19 OCHA report, SAF
bombardment of villages, clashes between armed
groups, and interethnic fighting have displaced nearly
80,000 Darfuris since January 1, bringing the total
number of individuals displaced during the Darfur
conflict to more than 2.4 million.
IDPs have begun returning to Abu Surug and Sirba
villages in West Darfur, where the SAF conducted
ground and aerial attacks in January and February.
According to the U.N., approximately 80 percent of
displaced individuals have returned to Abu Surug, and
90 percent have returned to Sirba, but only 20 percent
have returned to Silea, due to continued insecurity and
harassment of civilians. Ongoing population
displacement in West Darfur has caused humanitarian
agencies to establish the new Abu Zar II IDP camp
near El Geneina. USAID partners are providing
shelter and water for IDPs in Abu Zar II.
Interethnic fighting also displaced Darfuris during the
month of March. Fighting in the Buram area in South
Darfur displaced more than 500 households, according
to OCHA. New displacements continue near Saraf
Omra, North Darfur, despite improved security
conditions after interethnic fighting in the area. Since
February, nearly 2,800 IDPs have arrived in Saraf
Omra and El Sireaf.
Health
Since March 3, bloody diarrhea has killed six new
arrivals in Al Salam IDP camp in South Darfur,
including two small children. Relief agencies are
concerned that the lack of adequate sanitation facilities
in the new arrivals area of the camp may be leading to
increased cases of bloody diarrhea. Humedica
International and USAID partner International Medical
Corps are planning a humanitarian response.
Food Security
On March 9, the South Darfur State Government
released the final report from a post-harvest
assessment conducted between December 2007 and
February 2008 by the U.N. Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO), South Darfur state ministries, the
GNU Humanitarian Aid Commission, the Sudan
Liberation Army (SLA), and NGOs. According to the
report, an unusually poor harvest in South Darfur
resulted from several factors, including the September
2007 rainfall shortage, the impact of insecurity on
residents’ ability to cultivate and harvest, damage from
pests, and insufficient plant protection. In addition, the
report cites a significant cereal deficit of 425,000
metric tons (MT) throughout South Darfur. USAID
staff note that the 425,000 MT gap excludes WFP’s
food assistance for an estimated 1.1 million
beneficiaries during the peak of the hunger gap and
any distributions from the government’s strategic
reserves. USAID field staff continue to monitor the
situation.
CURRENT SITUATION IN SUDAN,
EXCLUDING DARFUR
In Southern Sudan and the Three Areas, humanitarian
organizations continue to provide basic services, assist
returning refugees and IDPs, and rebuild community
infrastructure and capacity. In March, insecurity in
Warab and Central Equatoria states caused
displacement and increased humanitarian needs,
according to OCHA.
Security and Humanitarian Access
On March 22, six unidentified assailants killed two
WFP truck drivers in Unity State, Southern Sudan.
The drivers were transporting food aid to Abyei town.
According to WFP, the recent attack in Southern
Sudan was the first on food aid trucks outside Darfur
in 2008.
Localized insecurity has negatively affected civilians
in regions of Southern Sudan and the Three Areas. On
March 20 and 21, an interagency team conducted an
assessment of security and humanitarian needs in Tonj
County, Warab State, following interethnic clashes in
the area on March 9 and 10. The assessment team
reported that attacks on villagers in Luac Jang payam,
Tonj County, killed 67 individuals, injured 117 others,
displaced 2,600 people, and resulted in the loss of
approximately 42,000 head of cattle. The assessment
team recommended the provision of food aid and
medical assistance to the affected individuals. On
March 19, clashes near the border between Unity and
Southern Kordofan states displaced an undetermined
number of individuals, according to U.N. and media
reports. On March 22, OCHA reported continued
armed attacks in Kajo Keji, Yei, and Juba counties in
Central Equatoria State. Since January 2008, more
than 5,200 households have been looted or displaced in
Central Equatoria State.
Returns
On March 27, the U.N. Mission in Sudan Returns,
Reintegration, and Recovery unit (UNMIS RRR)
presented an overview of trends in returns from 2004
to 2007. As of the end of December 2007, nearly 2
million IDPs and refugees had returned to Southern
Sudan and the Three Areas, 90 percent of whom were
spontaneous returnees. Of this total, an estimated 19
percent, or nearly 390,000 IDPs, returned to the Three
Areas, with 290,000 going to Southern Kordofan State,
60,000 to Abyei Area, and 32,800 to Blue Nile State.
In Southern Sudan, 1.6 million people returned to the
region, with Northern Bahr el Ghazal State recording
the highest total returns.
Organized and spontaneous returns of IDPs to
Southern Sudan and the Three Areas continued in
March 2008. The UNMIS RRR unit reported that
1,755 returnees were transported from Khartoum to
Unity, Lakes, Western Equatoria, and Eastern
Equatoria states in Southern Sudan, 3,978 were
transported from South Darfur to Northern Bahr el
Ghazal State, and 649 were transported within
Southern Sudan in March. Since January 2008, a total
of 12,076 IDPs have returned under the joint U.N.–
Government of Southern Sudan–GNU returns
program.
As of March 22, repatriation of Sudanese refugees to
Southern Sudan and Blue Nile State from Kenya,
Uganda, and Ethiopia reached a cumulative total of
251,427 since 2005, according to UNHCR. Of this
number, approximately 100,000 returned under the
organized and assisted self-repatriation programs.
UNHCR is assisting the return of approximately 4,500
refugees per week to Southern Sudan, up from 3,000
per week at the beginning of March. The pace of
organized return convoys has increased in order to
enable refugees to return home before the national
census from April 5 to 30 and before the rainy season
begins in May.
USAID-funded programs assist the return of IDPs and
refugees to Southern Sudan through constructing and
rehabilitating water points, improving access to
sanitation facilities, assisting health clinics, and
providing seeds and veterinary services to support
returnee livelihoods.
Health
On March 20, health workers in Yei, Central Equatoria
State, reported 43 known cases of acute watery diarrhea
and 2 associated fatalities. The U.N. Resident
Coordinator’s Office, UNICEF, and OCHA are
coordinating a humanitarian response. Norwegian
People’s Aid is providing case management, and the
U.N. World Health Organization plans to deploy an
epidemiologist and provide essential medicines.
Food Security and Livelihoods
On March 19, FAO released a final report on the
USAID-funded assistance program for livestockowning
communities in Southern Sudan implemented
from March 2006 to June 2007. Through the project,
FAO procured and delivered 12,600 units of veterinary
drugs and vaccines to protect and treat 300,000 cattle,
200,000 sheep and goats, and 24,000 dogs against
livestock diseases. In addition, FAO distributed 15
kerosene-powered refrigeration units to facilitate the
flow of viable vaccines from Lokichoggio, Kenya, to
communities in Southern Sudan. FAO trained 35
animal health auxiliaries and community animal health
workers to provide basic animal health services and
supplied essential equipment for veterinary health
programs.
USAID reconstruction programs support the establishment of a foundation for a just and durable peace with the broad participation of the Sudanese people. Activities focus on supporting the peace process, democracy and governance, education, health, and economic growth.
USAID humanitarian programs work to meet immediate needs while simultaneously transitioning to longer-term reconstruction and development activities in areas outside of Darfur. Priorities include assisting individuals displaced by conflict, providing basic services in traditionally underserved areas, and improving food security through increased agricultural production.
USAID food assistance accounted for over 80 percent of the commitments to the UN World Food Program in 2005, and supports ongoing programs with the Red Cross and other nongovernmental organizations. As the leading donor of food assistance to Sudan, USAID targets food aid commodities to the most vulnerable, with particular emphasis on women and children.
USAID Sudan Strategy Statement (pdf,469kb)
USAID Monthly Update - November 2007 (pdf,505kb)
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