Friday, July 26, 2024
United Nations, United States

On Thursday July 18, the United States announced more than $200 million in new aid for civilians affected by the war in Sudan, including refugees who have fled to neighboring countries.
“The people of Sudan are facing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. We must do more to help them,” said US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
“I am proud to announce that the United States will provide an additional $203 million in humanitarian assistance to help the people affected by this brutal conflict in Sudan, Chad, Egypt and South Sudan,” she said, adding that this was in addition to nearly $500 million released since the beginning of the year.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been the scene of a deadly war between the army led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of his former deputy turned rival, General Mohamed Hamdane Daglo.
The conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 10 million people, of whom more than two million have taken refuge in neighboring countries, according to the UN.
And some 25.6 million people, more than half the population of Sudan, are currently facing “acute food insecurity”, said a UN-backed report at the end of June.
“People are eating dust to survive, relying on tree leaves for food,” said Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
The new U.S. envelope will be used to build shelters for refugees, provide food aid, medical support and help communities hosting the displaced, she added.
The ambassador reiterated her call for a ceasefire and improved access for humanitarian aid. To improve this humanitarian access, the UN Security Council “should consider all the tools at its disposal, including authorizing aid via critical crossing points, for example the Adre border crossing to Sudan, as we have done with cross-border aid to Syria”, she pleaded.
In 2014, the Council had created a mechanism enabling the UN to deliver humanitarian aid to populations in rebel areas of northwestern Syria, without authorization from the Syrian government, which denounced a violation of its sovereignty. The mechanism expired in July 2023 after Russia vetoed its renewal.
Humaniterre with AFP