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Displacement from Sudan conflict exceeds 4 million: UNHCR

The UN Refugee Agency, (UNHCR) warned on Tuesday that health conditions in Sudan are

rapidly deteriorating due to the forcible displacement of over four million people.

Refugee camps, as well as border entry points and transit centres in neighbouring countries are

experiencing worsening conditions due to the arrival of people who have been forced to flee.

“The situation is untenable,” UNHCR spokesperson, William Spindler told a briefing in Geneva.

“Needs far outweigh what is humanly possible to deliver with available resources.”

According to Mr. Spindler over 144,000 newly displaced refugees from Khartoum arrived in all

10 refugee camps in White Nile state since the conflict started.

But “a lack of essential medicines, staff and supplies is severely hampering health and nutrition

services there”. Across borders, “the situation is equally grim”. The health and nutrition status of

those arriving from Sudan “has deteriorated sharply since the conflict started in April and

continues to worsen,” he added.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has also reported chronic shortages in health staff, as

well as attacks on personnel which have significantly compromised the quality of health care

across the country.

Echoing Mr. Spindler’s concerns, WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier condemned an

attack on Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) staff on 20 July in Khartoum; “Attacks on health care

are a gross violation of international humanitarian law and the right to health. They must stop.”

According to Mr. Lindmeier, WHO has verified 53 attacks on healthcare officials, resulting in 11

deaths and 38 injuries, between 15 April and 31 July.

The UNHCR has found that since the start of the conflict, nearly 700,000 refugees and asylum-

seekers fled to neighbouring countries, and 195,000 South Sudanese were forced to return to

South Sudan. Giving more detail on the numbers, Mr. Spindler pointed out that over three

million people have been internally displaced, including more than 187,000 refugees already

residing there. The UNHCR spokesperson warned that with many families on the move for

weeks with very little food or medicine, there have been “rising malnutrition rates, disease

outbreaks and related deaths…”. In addition, “severe cholera and malaria cases are expected in

the coming months due to flooding from the continuing rains and inadequate sanitation

facilities”.

According to the UNHCR, underfunding is severely hampering the response in South Sudan.

The UN agency has reported 57 deaths among children from measles and malnutrition in Renk.

The majority of the children were under five years old, and of these, 15 died in the last week.

Similarly, the UNHCR reported that in Chad only 17 mobile clinics are operational across 15

locations at the border sites and refugee camps where people are arriving. Over 2,400 wounded

refugees and returnees have arrived, requiring urgent medical attention, with approximately 130

casualties admitted daily in June. The Organization has called for more desperately needed

funds to support the provision of health care and other life-saving aid. Of the 566 million US

dollars required to provide assistance in countries neighbouring Sudan, just 29 per cent has

been received. The inter-agency response inside Sudan is only 24 per cent funded, UNHCR

warned.

ends