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Sudan to open channels for delivery of humanitarian aid

Sudanese refugees waits in line to collect water at Kumer refugee camp near Maganan on March 1, 2024. (Photo: Michele Spatari/AFP)

By Mwangi Maina | 06 Mar 2024

In Sudan, almost 18 million people are suffering from hunger after 10 months of heavy fighting.

The Sudanese military leadership has consented to open crucial access points to facilitate the transportation of urgent humanitarian aid to those in need.

This decision was communicated to the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkwita Salami during her meeting with officials from the Sudanese Foreign Ministry.

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Salami announced aid facilitation access from Chad via the Tina border crossing into Darfur, from South Sudan through the Renk border crossing to Kosti in White Nile state, and via humanitarian flights accessing airports in Al Fasher, Kadugli, and Al Obeid.

Chad, a nation grappling with immense development challenges, including climate shocks and food insecurity, now hosts hundreds of thousands of refugees from Darfur who are fleeing the war.

According to UNHCR, women and children represent some 90 per cent of the refugees, with 77 per cent of women arriving alone in Chad, with children.

The Central African country has become the largest host of refugees fleeing Sudan since the brutal war erupted last April.

In South Sudan, thousands of people have fled the civil war to Renk, a town just over the border in South Sudan.

At least 541,888 people have arrived according to UN figures.

"This is a welcome step that will greatly facilitate UN and partner efforts to reach people in dire need of life-saving assistance, and is in accordance with the Jeddah Declaration which calls for safe and sustainable humanitarian corridors guaranteed by the parties to the conflict," the UN official posted a statement on her X account.

Today I was informed that the Sudanese Government would facilitate humanitarian access from Chad through the Tina border crossing.

We are now liaising with relevant authorities and parties so that we can get our humanitarian convoys back on the road.

There is no time to lose. pic.twitter.com/8FiMgG865B
— Clementine Nkweta-Salami (@CNkwetaSalami) March 5, 2024

She added that they will continue to advocate for further viable humanitarian access routes to all vulnerable communities.

"There is no time to lose. We are now liaising with relevant authorities and parties to ensure that predictable, accountable, and timely procedures are put into place as soon as possible so that we can get our humanitarian convoys back on the road," the statement added.

In Sudan, almost 18 million people are suffering from hunger after 10 months of heavy fighting.

A shipment of wheat donated by Ukraine to the UN World Food Programme's Sudan operation arrived in Port Sudan last week and was loaded onto WFP trucks for emergency food distributions.

The 7,600 tonnes of wheat flour will be provided to families, many of whom have fled their homes due to the fighting and are struggling every day to meet their food needs.

WFP has been warning of a looming hunger catastrophe as the lean season approaches if civilians do not receive food assistance.'

The deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Sudan has caused an unprecedented mass displacement, with an estimated 9.05 million internally displaced persons, accounting for about 13 per cent of all IDPs globally.