24.7 million people in Sudan urgently need humanitarian aid and protection, the UN humanitarian agency (UNOCHA) said.
About 5.3 million people, it noted, have so far been displaced due to conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces.
According to the UN and humanitarian partners, at least 72,000 people have been affected by heavy rains and flooding across 16 localities in seven states.
Sudan, OCHA revealed, was grappling with a protracted economic crisis and pre-existing conflicts before its current fighting involving its national army and RSF.
Over the past three years, it noted, there has been a notable rise in the number of people in need of assistance, surging from 50.1 million in 2021 to 73 million in 2023 in Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Sudan.
“This year, humanitarian partners are aiming to reach 51.9 million people with life-saving assistance, a 19 per cent increase compared to 2022,” said OCHA.
It further added, “This includes 2.4 million people in CAR, 4.4 million in Chad, 20.1 million in Ethiopia, 6.8 million in South Sudan and 18.1 million in Sudan”.
According the UN humanitarian agency, despite these pressing needs and overstretched resources, funding remains inadequate to respond at scale.
Last week, the humanitarian agency cautioned that situation in Sudan will get immeasurably worse unless urgent action is taken by the international community.
Five months of brutal conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, have fueled a humanitarian crisis of epic and tragic proportions.
