Source: United Nations (video statements)
Briefing reporters virtually from Sudan, OCHA’s Director of Operations and Advocacy, Edem Wosornu, today (8 Aug) said, “what I saw in Khartoum was devastating. It was a decimated city, a Khartoum that was once buzzing with life, almost a ghost town, a Khartoum that is utterly destroyed.”
Wosornu described visiting OCHA’s offices in Khartoum and noted the team was not able to enter the premises “because of unexploded ordnance, explosive remnants of war not cleared by, of course, the United Nations by an action service who’ve been clearing different offices across the city.”
She said, “I have never seen anything like this before in my almost quarter of a century service to the United Nations and to humanitarian action, in several difficult, war-torn contexts. This is the worst I’ve seen it.”
On funding, the humanitarian official said, “what we’re asking for is basically 55 cents per day per person in Sudan. And that’s it. Right. So, where we have access, we are able to assist. Where we have safety and security assurances, we’re able to assist. Where we have enough supplies and funding, we’re able to assist.”
She said Sudan’s is “the largest displaced crisis, the largest health crisis, the largest number of people in need.”
Wosornu said, “wwe’ve received 23 percent of what we’re asking for. We’ve received almost a billion and we’ve been able to assist some 13 million people. So, you see, when we get the assistance in, when we get the flexible funding, we are able to mobilize. Certainly, the World Food Program, UNICEF, World Health Organization, UNFPA, IOM, all our UN agencies, funds and programs, as well as, of course, our international and national NGOs able to mobilize.”
Since April 2023, Sudan has faced an unprecedented humanitarian crisis driven by the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. Civilians continue to bear the brunt of violence, with nearly 9 million people displaced internally, making Sudan the world’s largest internal displacement crisis. An additional over 3 million people have fled to neighbouring countries.
Nearly two thirds of Sudan’s population is in dire need of humanitarian assistance, including 16 million children. Acute food insecurity has reached historic levels, with famine conditions confirmed in various parts of the country and millions at risk of starvation. Meanwhile, disease outbreaks are compounding the crisis, alongside worsening climate shocks.
Women and girls are particularly vulnerable, facing heightened risks of conflict-related sexual violence.