New York - Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that the humanitarian response to the increasing numbers of people fleeing the fighting in Sudan needs funding of $445 million, “nearly half a billion.” She indicated that she is making plans for the influx of 860,000 people from Sudan, whether refugees or returnees to their countries after they were refugees in Sudan.
According to a UN Bulletin, a copy of which we received via email on Friday morning, UNHCR has reported updates to the Inter-Agency Regional Plan to Respond to the Needs of Refugees in Sudan, which was presented to donors on Thursday.
The response plan was developed in collaboration with 134 partners including other UN agencies, national and international NGOs and civil society groups.
It will mainly cover immediate support in Chad, South Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic, until October.
Raouf Mazo, Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, described the humanitarian situation in Sudan as catastrophic, pointing to shortages of food, water and fuel, limited access to transportation, communications and electricity, and skyrocketing prices of basic commodities.
"UNHCR and its partners have emergency teams on the ground assisting the authorities with technical support, registering arrivals, carrying out protection monitoring and enhancing reception to ensure urgent needs are met. This is only the beginning. More assistance is urgently needed," he added.
UNHCR is coordinating contingency planning with partners to respond to the new arrivals in neighboring countries.
The Commission said that its preliminary financial and operational planning expectations were set to meet the needs of 860,000 people, including 580,000 Sudanese and 235,000 refugees who were residing in Sudan and returned to their homes in difficult circumstances, in addition to 45,000 refugees of other nationalities previously hosted by Sudan. Egypt and South Sudan are expected to witness the largest number of arrivals.