South Sudan Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala: Our people ‘on brink of destitution, slowly perishing’

"THE country, South Sudan, seems to be going round in circles from one calamity to the next and back. The saddest reality is our inability to overcome the effects of these calamities and cushion our people against them." He [Bishop Kussala] said that unless these issues are addressed, he fears his people will not survive, “especially because the majority of the population (64%) are helpless youths who have no source of income, while most of the remaining 36% are elderly persons.” Read more.

From National Catholic Register
Dated Monday, 11 March 2024 - here is a copy in full:

South Sudan Bishop: Our People ‘on Brink of Destitution, Slowly Perishing’

Bishop Hiiboro Kussala painted a grim picture of the situation of women, girls, and children in the world’s newest and youngest country, which gained independence from Sudan in July 2011.

Photo: A camp for Internally Displaced Persons in Renk, South Sudan. (Credit:   Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development)

The people of God in South Sudan are in urgent need of external support, the president of the Integral Human Development Commission of the Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SCBC) has said.

In a March 8 letter addressed to “the head of Caritas network, people of goodwill, and the international community,” Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala described the desperate situation of his compatriots, who he says are “on the brink of destitution” and are “slowly perishing” amid challenges occasioned by violent conflicts and COVID-19.

“Our people continue to suffer the effects of complex emergencies, which are still being experienced in many parts of the country, including those parts that had previously been peaceful,” Bishop Hiiboro Kussala said in his three-page letter dated March 8.

The number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) “has increased tremendously across the country,” he said, adding that these are South Sudanese “living in deplorable conditions and are starving.”

The bishop, who leads South Sudan’s Diocese of Tombura-Yambia, highlighted the fact that “women, children, the aged, and people living with disabilities” are bearing the brunt of the conditions in the East-Central African nation.

Bishop Hiiboro Kussala painted a grim picture of the situation of women, girls, and children in the world’s newest and youngest country, which gained independence from Sudan in July 2011. 

“Consider the South Sudanese mother who watches her child die because of malnutrition caused by severe hunger; the young man who dies in the hospital because there is no medicine to treat him; the 9-year-old girl who, for a piece of ‘bambe’ [potato], is forced to sell her body; and the emaciated old woman who is lying inside her ramshackle hut awaiting death to take away her suffering,” he said.

“Those still living in their homesteads are equally facing starvation since most of them have had to, ironically, abandon their sources of livelihood in a bid to save their lives,” he said. “Most school children have had to drop out of school because of insecurity and fear of being forcefully recruited to serve as soldiers in the conflicts.”

These challenges are compounded by earlier negative effects of COVID-19 restrictions, Bishop Hiiboro Kussala further lamented, explaining that “South Sudan is also still struggling to overcome the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw our already fragile economy come to a near collapse.”

“COVID-19 saw many people lose their jobs and livelihoods, causing those who were previously self-reliant to become dependent on well-wishers,” he said.

The challenges of the people of God in South Sudan have worsened by the country’s “skyrocketing inflation,” the bishop noted, adding that “many people can no longer afford to buy even the cheapest of foodstuff. As a result, the poverty levels in the country have increased, with the number of families going hungry escalating.”

“The state of calamities in the country has been worsened by floods in some areas and severe drought in others,” he lamented. “The country, South Sudan, seems to be going round in circles from one calamity to the next and back. The saddest reality is our inability to overcome the effects of these calamities and cushion our people against them.”

He said that unless these issues are addressed, he fears his people will not survive, “especially because the majority of the population (64%) are helpless youths who have no source of income, while most of the remaining 36% are elderly persons.”

As president of the Commission for Integral Human Development of SCBC, which brings together Catholic bishops in Sudan and South Sudan, Hiiboro Kussala appealed for external support, imploring them to “not get tired of our knocking on your doors once again and again … because you are our only hope and therefore light at the end of the tunnel.” 

“It is no longer about the country and its leadership but about the people of South Sudan, who are slowly perishing,” the bishop said. 

In his letter, the bishop acknowledged with appreciation the support of the international community over the years. “You have been our anchor amid troubled waters, and we can only say thank you and pray that the good God may reward you in ways that only he can,” he said.

View original: https://www.ncregister.com/cna/south-sudan-bishop-our-people-on-brink-of-destitution-slowly-perishing

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Sudan & South Sudan: UN struggles to cope with thousands of daily arrivals in transit centres in Renk

STAFF at the UN-run transit centres in Renk, South Sudan, help exhausted people to travel onwards to their final destinations in the hope of avoiding large numbers staying in this extremely remote, poorly resourced region. 

There’s hardly any water, food, sanitation, security or shelter. Many of the thousands who have crossed the border from Sudan are vulnerable and traumatised. They fled terrible violence and have spent weeks, in some cases months, trying to cross into South Sudan to reach safety. 

Since the outbreak of fighting in Sudan last April, the influx of people fleeing Sudan increased sharply at multiple border points. More than half a million have crossed the South Sudan border, according to UN estimates. 

Read more from UN News
Dated Friday, 23 February 2024 - here is a copy of the report in full:

Sudan: UN struggles to cope with thousands of daily arrivals in South Sudan transit camps

© IOM/Elijah Elaigwu. Sudanese refugees in the UN-run transit centre in Renk, South Sudan.

South Sudan, one of the world’s poorest countries, is dealing with the influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees from its northern neighbour, Sudan, which has been in the grip of a major conflict between the government and the Rapid Support Forces since April of last year.

Since the outbreak of fighting, the influx of people fleeing Sudan has increased sharply at multiple border points, and more than half a million individuals have crossed the South Sudan border, according to UN estimates.

At the UN-run transit centres in Renk, staff are helping exhausted individuals to travel onwards to their final destinations in the hope of avoiding large numbers staying in this extremely remote, poorly resourced part of the country.

Yvonne Ndege, a spokesperson with the UN migration agency, IOM, travelled to Renk to assess the conditions in the camp. 

She described the scene to Ben Malor from UN News.

Yvonne Ndege: This is one of the most remote parts of South Sudan. There’s hardly any water, food, sanitation, security or shelter. Many of the thousands of people who have crossed the border from Sudan are vulnerable and traumatized. They fled terrible violence and have spent weeks, in some cases months, trying to cross into South Sudan to reach safety.

UN News: How is the UN helping those arriving in Renk?

Yvonne Ndege: Hundreds of thousands of people have been assisted by the UN migration agency to continue moving to other destinations. This assistance is critical because what IOM and other UN agencies don’t want is for refugee camps to spring up in this location as it is so remote. There is no infrastructure, no medical facilities or resources of any kind for those vulnerable arrivals.

This has involved IOM putting on over 1,200 flights away from Renk to Malakal, the capital of Upper Nile state. It has also involved sea transportation, and we have helped over 100,000 to take boats to Malakal, which is a three-day journey overnight on the River Nile.

We have also assisted people with some road transportation to try to reach their communities of origin, but when you look at the volume of people arriving, this assistance is not enough, and the funds to continue to provide this onward transport assistance are dwindling and running out fast.

© IOM/Elijah Elaigwu. Sudanese refugees in the UN-run transit centre in Renk, South Sudan.

UN News: What have the displaced people been telling you about their experiences?

Yvonne Ndege: The conditions that they describe are completely horrific. Some say they fled violence and bullets, spending several days in the bush trying to reach the border. Others say they experienced sexual violence along the journey. We spoke to one family, a mother with her two daughters and her own mother, who travelled all the way from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, to reach this border and cross into safety. She was very traumatized and upset. We spoke to another man, who said that his whole family, he and his sons, were being forced to actually join the fighting and take part in the violence. They didn’t want to, so they spent weeks trying to get here.

UN News: How serious are the risks of disease or hunger?

Yvonne Ndege: IOM staff have been providing medical checks and vaccinations to those arriving before they are transported to the main town of Renk for further assistance and care, but there are massive concerns about the risk of disease, hunger and further violence. There’s hardly any infrastructure in this remote area, no internet or mobile network of any kind and no food or water supplies. So, the risks are real.

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View original here: https://news.un.org/en/interview/2024/02/1146907

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Sudan: SAF & RSF clashes in Aj Jazirah Wad Medani

UN OCHA SUDAN update as of Jan 8 says: "Insecurity and safety concerns are the main operational challenges in Al Jazeera  State, with humanitarian missions suspended since 15 December 2023 and virtually no humanitarian partners operating in Wad Madani as the conflict is still ongoing.

An implementing partner of the World Food Programme (WFP) operates nutrition services with limited capacity at Al Managil and Al Hasahisa, covering Supplementary Feeding Programmes (SFP).

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) deployed teams to conduct rapid needs assessments in Sennar, Gedaref, and White Nile states.

In Gedaref, preparations for the Alhoury IDP gathering site are ongoing, with plans for some IDPs to be moved to the site on 7 January. ZOA is providing ready-made meals to IDPs upon arrival at the site. Care International in Sudan is building emergency latrines, and the local NGO Al Tawaki provides drinking water. 

In Sennar, the security situation remains a significant challenge as shelling and aerial bombardment continue to be reported in the outskirts of Sennar, including near the Sennar Sugar Factory, about 32 km northwest of Sennar. Interruptions of Internet and mobile networks, bank services, and cash liquidity have continued to pose challenges to the operations of humanitarian organizations.

In the states of Kassala and Red Sea, humanitarian partners are responding to the needs of new IDPs from Aj Jazirah. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Holland is a new implementing partner that began operating in Kassala. 52 sites (primarily public schools) currently hosting the newly displaced families from Jazirah. 

In Red Sea State, the authorities have opened two new gathering sites to accommodate IDPs from Jazirah and other locations and have registered 280 new arrivals at Abdalla Nagi and Salalab Algarbyia schools. 

In White Nile State, NRC distributed 500 hygiene kits in Aj Jabalain locality and three gathering sites in Kosti.

In Blue Nile State, Relief International (RI) will soon deploy two mobile clinics to support IDPs from Aj Jazirah". Read more.

From UN OCHA 

SUDAN: Clashes in Wad Medani between the SAF and RSF Flash Update No: 6 (as of 8 January 2024) - here is a copy in full:

SITUATION OVERVIEW

Since 15 December 2023, an estimated 509,800 people have been affected by the clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in parts of Aj Jazirah State, according to theInternational Organization for Migration (IOM) Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) Focused Flash Alert: Conflict in Aj Jazirah State. IOM DTM Sudan estimated that of this number about 275,800 internally displaced persons (IDPs) – or 54 per cent of the total affected individuals – were subjected to first-time displacement, originating from Medani Al Kurba and Sharg Aj Jazirah localities in Aj Jazirah State.

About 234,000 IDPs – 46 per cent of the total affected – had previously sought refuge in Aj Jazirah from Khartoum State and experienced secondary displacement following the outbreak of violence in Aj Jazirah on 15 December 2023. In addition, IOM DTM field teams found out that 152,400 IDPs that were living in 380 locations in Sharg Al Jazirah, Medani Al Kubra, Al Hasahisa, Janub Al Jazirah, Al Kamlin, and Um Algura left those locations. These locations included 133 schools, 24 sheltering centers, 35 villages, and 50 neighbourhoods.

Roads to villages located east of Aj Jazirah, including Sharg Al Neel in Khartoum State, have been cut off, with traders using alternative roads to bring supplies. This has created a shortage in basic food commodities and the prices have reportedly tripled. Cattle owners reportedly face significant shortages of animal feed, with thousands of cattle at risk of being lost. There are reports of civilian displacement in Al Managil, with displaced people sheltering in schools, while prices for fuel have reportedly quadrupled affecting the movement of people and supplies.

There are also some reports of IDPs from Aj Jazirah arriving in parts of White Nile State near the border with South Sudan, and individual cases of people moving further to Renk, and onward to Juba in South Sudan. According to an NGO partner, about 500 people arrived in the Aj Jabalain area near the South Sudan border.

­While many affected IDPs reportedly sought refuge in relatively safer locations within Aj Jazirah (about 205,500 people), DTM field teams reported that 60 per cent of the total affected people – representing 304,340 IDPs – fled to other states in Sudan. IDPs from Aj Jazirah were observed in Gedaref (64,551 IDPs), Sennar (60,000 IDPs), Red Sea (50,035 IDPs), White Nile (40,750 IDPs), River Nile (30,000 IDPs), Kassala (30,000 IDPs), Blue Nile (15,000 IDPs), and Northern (14,000 IDPs) states.

Before the eruption of the clashes on 15 December 2023, DTM Sudan estimated that about 525,000 IDPs sought refuge within Aj Jazirah as of 13 December 2023 – with the vast majority reportedly displaced from Khartoum state (more than 99 per cent) and less than 1 per cent originating from Aj Jazirah. The majority of IDPs were in Al Hasahisa (17 per cent), Medani Al Kubra (16 per cent), Al Kamlin (16 per cent), Sharg Al Jazirah (16 per cent), and Al Qurashi (10 per cent) localities.

HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

Insecurity and safety concerns are the main operational challenges in Al Jazeera State, with humanitarian missions suspended since 15 December 2023 and virtually no humanitarian partners operating in Wad Medani as the conflict is still ongoing.

An implementing partner of the World Food Programme (WFP) operates nutrition services with limited capacity at Al Managil and Al Hasahisa, covering Supplementary Feeding Programmes (SFP).

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) deployed teams to conduct rapid needs assessments in Sennar, Gedaref, and White Nile states.

In Gedaref, preparations for the Alhoury IDP gathering site are ongoing, with plans for some IDPs to be moved to the site on 7 January. ZOA is providing ready-made meals to IDPs upon arrival at the site. Care International in Sudan is building emergency latrines, and the local NGO Al Tawaki provides drinking water. 

Site management cluster partners erect shelters and install basic Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and health service facilities on-site. Ed Al-Tine, Umm Khanjar, and Wad Omar schools are being assessed as options for the second proposed IDP site in central Gedaref. NRC will be responsible for the site management in Al Fao, and the location in Al Mafaza locality will be prepared soon. The inter-sector rapid needs assessment (ISRNA) will commence once the IDPs are relocated to the proposed sites.

Meanwhile, some partners have reported restrictions on access to Al Fao imposed by security bodies for safety reasons. This has affected the provision of humanitarian assistance e.g., mobile clinic services in the area.

NRC completed two distributions, delivering 300 non-food item (NFI) kits to about 1,500 newly displaced people in Al Mafaza locality. NRC is also actively preparing for upcoming distributions in Al Galabat Al Gharbyah locality in Gedaref, with a special focus on assisting about 600 IDPs relocating to this area. 

The current efforts include site preparation, such as ground levelling and tent setup, along with NFI distribution. NRC also organized a one-day training session for 15 Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) volunteers on general protection aspects with a particular emphasis on individual protection assistance for new IDPs.

In Sennar, the security situation remains a significant challenge as shelling and aerial bombardment continue to be reported in the outskirts of Sennar, including near the Sennar Sugar Factory, about 32 km northwest of Sennar. Interruptions of Internet and mobile networks, bank services, and cash liquidity have continued to pose challenges to the operations of humanitarian organizations. SRCS, with support from the Kuwait Red Crescent Society, distributed food items (sugar, lentils, rice, oil, beans) to 2,367 IDPs from Aj Jazirah at five gathering sites and 7,000 residents from the host communities in Sennar. SRCS also continues hygiene promotion campaigns and provides first aid and psychosocial support to the IDPs in gathering sites in Sennar. NRC provided non-food supplies to about 2,700 newly displaced people in Sennar and Sinja localities.

In the states of Kassala and Red Sea, humanitarian partners are responding to the needs of new IDPs from Aj Jazirah. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Holland is a new implementing partner that began operating in Kassala. 52 sites (primarily public schools) currently hosting the newly displaced families from Jazirah. Most sector partners are responding to the new influx with their available resources, and other sectors have started planning the response activities. 

The situation is dynamic with the continuous commuting of families in and out of Kassala. WFP is set to distribute general food assistance rations shortly to 4,818 IDPs from Aj Jazirah in 52 gathering points. The International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) team also plans to provide food in coordination with WFP.

WASH cluster partners are conducting a two-day technical needs assessment on 7-8 January in all 52 IDP locations in Kassala. The Water and Environmental Sanitation Department (WES) has about 20 water bladders of different sizes to be installed immediately after the technical assessment. The two national NGOs – Al Eshrag Organization for Development and Reconstruction and Friends of Peace and Development Organization (FPDO) – provide water and hygiene kits for the newly displaced people.

In Red Sea State, the authorities have opened two new gathering sites to accommodate IDPs from Jazirah and other locations and have registered 280 new arrivals at Abdalla Nagi and Salalab Algarbyia schools. Newly arrived IDPs from Aj Jazirah need shelter, non-food supplies and food assistance. Port Sudan youth groups started providing ready meals with their limited resources. A significant number of newly displaced families are believed to be staying with host communities.

In White Nile State, NRC distributed 500 hygiene kits in Aj Jabalain locality and three gathering sites in Kosti.

In Blue Nile State, Relief International (RI) will soon deploy two mobile clinics to support IDPs from Aj Jazirah. Human Appeal and other organizations have provided food for IDPs at Nahda school. UNICEF supported the provision of 2,000 litres of safe water for newly arrived IDPs from Aj Jazirah in Ed Damazine. UNICEF has also provided cleaning tools for two IDP gathering sites (schools) in Ed Damazine town and conducted three-day cleaning campaigns. IRC provided WASH NFIs and hygiene dignity kits for about 450 IDPs at two gathering sites.  

BACKGROUND

After years of protracted crisis, Sudan plunged into a conflict of alarming scale when fighting between SAF and RSF broke out initially in Khartoum on 15 April, and quickly expanded to other areas across the country. Khartoum has been the site of heavy fighting, while severe violent clashes and heavy bombardments have also been reported in the greater Darfur and Kordofan regions. The hostilities have resulted in extensive damage to critical infrastructure and facilities, including water and healthcare, the collapse of banking and financial services, frequent interruptions to electricity supply and telecommunication services and widespread looting. Since the conflict broke out, humanitarian needs have increased and almost 25 million people now require assistance in Sudan. More than 6.8 million people have been forced to leave their homes for safety elsewhere.

An estimated 5.9 million people live in Aj Jazirah State, Sudan’s breadbasket, with 700,000 living in Wad Medani. More than 270,000 people in the town need humanitarian assistance. Since April 15, 2023, nearly 500,000 people have fled to Al Jazirah State, 86,400 of whom are in Wad Medani. About 1.9 million people are in crisis (IPC 3) and have above-level food security in the state, with 179,000 in Wad Medani between October 2023 and February 2024, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). There is an ongoing cholera outbreak in Aj Jazirah and neighbouring states. 57 humanitarian organizations work in the state, including 25 international NGOs, 21 national NGOs and six UN agencies. So far this year humanitarian organizations have reached 730,000 people in Aj Jazirah with food assistance, WASH, health and other humanitarian interventions.

*** 

For more information, please contact: Alimbek Tashtankulov, Public Information Officer, OCHA Sudan, tashtankulov@un.org, Mob: +249 (0)912 160361  

View original and Download report with map here: 

https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/sudan/flash-update/4o5Zm94HTs1ilqxfZfZ40U/

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Sudan: Displacement crisis in Sudan deepens

If the fighting further escalates and spreads to Sudan's White Nile State it could significantly impact the work of UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations that provide critical assistance to over 437,000 South Sudanese refugees and some 433,000 internally displaced Sudanese there. 

Read more from UNHCR

Briefing notes 
Dated 19 December 2023 - here is a copy in full:

Displacement crisis in Sudan deepens as fighting spread

This is a summary of what was said by Wiliam Spindler – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Refugees from Sudan wait at the Joda border point in South Sudan's Upper Nile State for transportation to the transit centre in Renk. © UNHCR/Ala Kheir

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is concerned at the deepening forced displacement crisis in Sudan and neighbouring countries as hundreds of thousands more people flee from the latest fighting in Sudan’s central Al Jazirah State, southeast of the capital, Khartoum.

We are also very concerned about reports of an escalation in the conflict in the Darfur Region. On 16 December, renewed fighting in El Fasher, in North Darfur, resulted in civilian casualties, injuries, and further displacement, followed by looting of homes and shops, and arrests of youth. In Nyala, in South Darfur, an aerial attack was reported, causing death, injuries and destruction of civilian homes.

Heavy fighting, including airstrikes and shootings, was reported on the outskirts of Wad Madani, the capital of the Al Jazirah State, on Friday, 15 December. The fighting has now reached the town. After conflict first broke out in Sudan’s capital in April this year, over half a million people, including some 7,000 refugees, fled to Wad Madani from Khartoum. 

With this latest bout of fighting, panic has reportedly spread among the civilian population in Wad Madani and people were seen leaving the town in vehicles and on foot, some for the second time in only a few months. According to IOM, between 250,000 and 300,000 people have fled Wad Madani and surrounding areas since the clashes began.  

UNHCR is working to deliver and distribute urgently needed core relief items to the people newly displaced from Al Jazirah to Sennar and Gedaref States. Despite efforts by national and international humanitarian organizations and local actors to provide assistance, the overall humanitarian situation remains dire.

Since the war broke out in April, more than 7 million people have fled their homes in Sudan, many of them moving repeatedly to find temporary safety. This repeated displacement shows how devastating this conflict has been for the civilian population.

We are very worried that if the fighting further escalates and spreads to White Nile State, it could significantly impact the work of UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations that provide critical assistance to over 437,000 South Sudanese refugees and some 433,000 internally displaced Sudanese there. Since the onset of the conflict in April, UNHCR has provided emergency shelter to approximately 42,000 families and core relief items to nearly 12,000 vulnerable families in White Nile State and, in collaboration with UN and NGO partners, has taken measures to mitigate the high risk of a cholera outbreak in displacement sites. However, a spread of the fighting or any new influx could disrupt health and WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) services, resulting in severe consequences.

There are also reports of people on the move towards South Sudan, where the border town of Renk is severely overcrowded and lacking enough aid to meet the needs of the people who have already arrived. 

Heavy rains have made the roads impassable, hampering the relocation of refugees. UNHCR and partners are doing what they can to prepare, but resources were already severely overstretched.

We continue to strongly appeal to all parties to end the conflict, to respect the safety of civilians in accordance with international law, and to allow humanitarian access so that critical lifesaving aid and services can reach those in need.

As the scale of the crisis and the potential for it to destabilize the entire region continues to grow, the world must not forget the ongoing situation in Sudan.

We appreciate the funding received already from many donors, but it is just not enough to meet the needs of the families that are facing unimaginable hardship.

The 2023 Sudan Regional Refugee Response Plan, which called for $1 billion to meet the needs of 1.8 million people in Chad, Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan this year, is only 38 per cent funded.

For additional information:

• In Sudan: Assadullah Nasrullah, UNHCR, nasrulla@unhcr.org +249 912 178 991 
• In Nairobi: Faith Kasina, UNHCR, kasina@unhcr.org +254 113 427 094
• In Geneva: William Spindler, UNHCR, spindler@unhcr.org; +41 79 549 5998

View original: https://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing-notes/displacement-crisis-sudan-deepens-fighting-spreads

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