UK CHANNEL 4 NEWS VIDEO FROM CHAD-SUDAN. UK doubles its aid to Sudan to £89m as crisis escalates

Report from Channel 4 News UK
By LINDSEY HILSUM

International Editor for Channel 4 News

Dated Thursday, 28 March 2024 - here is a copy in full:

War and hunger force hundreds of thousands to flee Sudan

The UK is almost doubling its aid to Sudan, to £89 million, as the humanitarian crisis there continues to escalate.

It’s almost a year since Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces turned on each other – plunging the country into war. Millions have been displaced and half the population is facing famine.

The new conflict also re-ignited the two-decade-long war in the Darfur region, with the RSF and allied Arab militia resuming their slaughter of the ethnic African Masalit tribe.

More than half a million people have fled to overcrowded camps in Chad, where food supplies are also dwindling.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW CHANNEL 4 NEWS VIDEO FROM CHAD-SUDAN.

Channel 4 is a British public broadcast service.

Video credits:
Channel 4 News @Channel4News

Reporter: 

@lindseyhilsum

Producer: 

@Zahra_ZW

Camera: Soren Munk

7:52 PM · Mar 28, 2024

Source: https://www.channel4.com/news/war-and-hunger-force-hundreds-of-thousands-to-flee-sudan

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Related

Press release

From Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and

The Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell MP

Dated Thursday, 28 March 2024 - here is a copy in full:

UK to nearly double aid for Sudan as humanitarian crisis deepens

The UK announced more support for people in Sudan, including funding to UNICEF for emergency food assistance and support for survivors of gender-based violence.

• UK support includes food and water for 500,000 children under 5 as Sudan’s humanitarian crisis grows
• the funding boost comes as the UK’s Development and Africa Minister, Andrew Mitchell visits the Chad-Sudan border, witnessing the crisis first-hand
• the UK again calls on the warring parties to commit to a lasting ceasefire and lift restrictions which are preventing aid reaching those who need it the most

The UK has today implemented additional support for people in Sudan, 1 year on from the start of the conflict.

This will include funding to UNICEF which will provide emergency and life-saving food assistance to support people particularly in hard-to reach areas in Sudan, including nutrition, water and hygiene services for 500,000 children under 5.  It will also support survivors of gender-based violence. The UK is committing an additional £4.95 million to provide 100,000 women and girls with a range of female genital mutilation, child marriage and gender-based violence prevention and response services.

The boost has been announced by the UK Minister for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, during a 2-day visit to Chad where he visited a site for refugees driven over the border into Chad by the violence.  

In addition, the UK will be working with the World Food Programme to assist over 285,000 beneficiaries for 6 months by providing 13,405 tons of assorted food commodities.  These include cereals, pulses, oils and salt. 

It is part of a £89 million package the UK will deliver in Sudan in 2024 to 2025 – up from nearly £50 million in the current financial year.  

The  conflict in Sudan has caused more than 8 million people to flee their homes, with over 6 million displaced within Sudan itself. After almost a year of conflict, 25 million people in Sudan need assistance, and the country is on the verge of a catastrophic hunger crisis.  The UN has formally warned of the risk of famine in this year, with 18 million currently facing hunger in the country.

Minister for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, said: 

The conflict in Sudan is devastating lives. Millions are displaced and facing catastrophic hunger conditions. There is growing evidence of atrocities against civilians.

The package announced today will help save lives. We have not forgotten the war in Sudan - nor must the world. The urgent priority is to end the violence.

Whilst in Chad, Minister Mitchell met with the President of the Transition, Mahamat Deby and Prime Minister Masra to underline UK support for peaceful, transparent and inclusive elections. They also discussed how the UK and Chad could work together towards peace in Sudan. 

Photo: Minister for Development and Africa Andrew Mitchell during his visit to Chad, meeting refugees fleeing from violence and hunger in Sudan.

Background

• the UK calls on both sides to end the fighting, to abide by their responsibilities under International Humanitarian Law, to protect civilians and to grant immediate and unrestricted humanitarian access to allow the provision of, and access to, lifesaving assistance
• the UK provided nearly £50 million in ODA funding for Sudan in 2023 to 2024 (including over £42 million in humanitarian assistance) *  for the next financial year (2024 to 2025), overall UK aid to Sudan will increase to £89 million. We have also been helping those fleeing to neighbouring countries as a result of the conflict in Sudan, providing £7.75 million in South Sudan including to support existing and new refugees, and £15 million to Chad over the last year
• the conflict in Sudan began last April when violence erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Tensions between SAF General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) had been escalating for months following disagreements on a transition to a civilian led government
• the humanitarian crisis has been heighted by restrictions to humanitarian access and communications blackouts. More than 700,000 people have crossed from Sudan into eastern Chad, putting pressure on already vulnerable communities and stretched services
• reports of conflict-related sexual violence are widespread cross Sudan. The conflict also risks setting back progress in the fight against female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage
• throughout the conflict the UK aid-funded Sudan Free of FGM project has kept working to protect women and girls. The UK is providing an additional £4.95 million, which aims to support 100,000 additional women and girls with a range of female genital mutilation, child marriage and gender-based violence prevention and response services until March 2026.  This brings the total UK support to £19.95 million. The project has provided over 83,000 consultations for sexual and reproductive health services, helped over 100,000 people with mental health and psychosocial support, supported over 9,000 survivors of FGM, child marriage, and gender-based violence and protected over 11,700 children in child-friendly spaces
• the UK aid-funded Sudan Free of FGM works with communities to alter social attitudes around FGM and child marriage, supports survivors of gender-based violence, and provides sexual and reproductive health care. It is delivered by UNICEF, the World Health Organisation, and the United Nations Population Fund
• Sudan has one of the highest rates of female genital mutilation (FGM) in the world and is one of the few countries where child marriage remains legal. Nearly 9 in 10 women and girls aged 15 to 49 have undergone some form of FGM. 60% of girls are married before they turn 18

Media enquiries

Email newsdesk@fcdo.gov.uk

Telephone 020 7008 3100

Contact the FCDO Communication Team via email (monitored 24 hours a day) in the first instance, and we will respond as soon as possible.

Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-to-nearly-double-aid-for-sudan-as-humanitarian-crisis-deepens

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Sudan Watch - March 17, 2024

From Chatham House 

EXPERT COMMENT by Dame Rosalind Marsden March 14, 2024

'Sudan’s forgotten war: A new diplomatic push is needed'

Ali Karti, SG of Sudan’s Islamic Movement, widely seen as a mastermind of Sudan's war, has now announced a truce with RSF will never be accepted

https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2024/03/ali-karti-sg-of-sudans-islamic-movement.html

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Troika statement on South Sudan Elections 2024

The Troika (Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States) have reaffirmed their call for peaceful elections in South Sudan. Updated: 20 March 2024

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END

Civilians suffer as ‘perfect storm’ of war, disease and displacement grips Sudan. WHO reports: 10,000 cholera, 5,000 measles, 8,000 dengue, 1.2m malaria

ACCORDING to the World Health Organisation over 10,000 cases of cholera, 5,000 cases of measles, about 8,000 cases of dengue and over 1.2 million clinical cases of malaria, have been reported in Sudan.

The alarming rise comes against the backdrop of over 80 of the 503 health facilities operated by aid organisations either not or only partially functioning due to insecurity and lack of medical supplies or medical personnel.

Read more in UN News report dated Tuesday, 13 Feb 2024 entitled Civilians suffer as ‘perfect storm’ of war, disease and displacement grips Sudan.

© UNICEF/Annadjib Ramadane Maha A Sudanese mother and her children displaced from their home due to the conflict. (file)

Full report: https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/02/1146502

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Sudan & South Sudan: Cholera crosses the Sudanese border and bursts into South Sudan refugee camps

THANKS to Lola Hierro (Hola Lola!) for informative reports and photos from Renk, South Sudan. At the Renk Transit Center, which has a capacity of 3,000 people, there are more than 16,000 current residents, and the roads that connect this out-of-the-way corner to the rest of the country are waterlogged by floods caused by end-of-summer rains. Renk’s risk lies in the fact that this [Vibrio cholerae] bacillus is transmitted through contact with contaminated foods and liquids, in conditions of overcrowding and lack of safe access to water and sanitation. Read more in this report.

From EL PLAIS

By LOLA HIERRO (Renk / Madrid)
Dated Tuesday, 12 December 2023 - 23:40 WET - full copy:

Cholera crosses the Sudanese border and bursts into South Sudan refugee camps

The Ministry of Health confirms a positive case in the Renk Transit Center, located in the north of the country, where thousands of displaced people are living shoulder to shoulder

Waiting room of the clinic located at the Renk Transit Center in northern South Sudan. ALA KHEIR (UNHCR)

South Sudan’s Ministry of Health has confirmed the first case of cholera in Renk, a city in the far north of the country that is suffering a humanitarian crisis amidst the thousands of people from Sudan who have been displaced since war broke out last April. Sudan has been struggling against an outbreak of the diarrheal disease since September 26 and to date has documented 4,000 cases and 130 deaths.

“The public is advised not to panic, as measures have been put in place to respond to this threat,” the ministry has announced. Nonetheless, in Renk, general sentiment is very different, as described via WhatsApp by Atsuhiko Ochiai, coordinator of a Doctors Without Borders (DWB) clinic located in the Zero settlement of Renk, which has more than 3,500 residents. “[The situation] is getting worse. More people come from Sudan all the time and the water, latrines, food, plastic sheets, hygiene kits, etcetera, are just not enough. Open-air defecation is common,” he warns.

Doctor Ochiai’s fears are due to a minimal health infrastructure. More than 400,000 people have crossed the border in the last eight months. They arrive in impoverished conditions, without money, without a home in which to stay, with no hope of feeding or cleaning themselves or accessing any service beyond what meager humanitarian aid they can obtain. That’s because all the most important United Nations agencies and nonprofits are present in Renk, but the funds available to help the population are not sufficient: only 32% of the more than 225 million euros required by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) have been covered. At the Renk Transit Center, which has a capacity of 3,000 people, there are more than 16,000 current residents, and the roads that connect this out-of-the-way corner to the rest of the country are waterlogged by floods caused by end-of-summer rains.

A woman cares for her son, who has been admitted to the hospital in Renk, northern South Sudan. ALA KHEIR (UNHCR)

Cholera presents a public health problem in 47 of the world’s poorest countries, where between 1.3 and four million cases are registered annually. The illness is caused by the Vibrio cholerae bacteria, which provokesd intense diarrhea, up to 20 liters a day, which can kill a person within four hours. With adequate treatment — rehydration and antibiotics in the most severe of cases— the death rate does not rise above 1%, but without it, it can soar to 50%.

Renk’s risk lies in the fact that this bacillus is transmitted through contact with contaminated foods and liquids, in conditions of overcrowding and lack of safe access to water and sanitation. This is precisely the scenario in the far north of South Sudan. If the region was already living in poverty and had been punished by nearly a decade of violence caused by internal conflicts, with 74% of the population in need of humanitarian aid, the waves of Sudanese and South Sudanese returnees from the new war have only worsened the situation.

The cholera patient identified at the transit center, a 38-year-old man who had recently crossed the border between the two states, has recovered. For the time being, no other positive cases have been reported. But the fear of new cases is very present. “When community-wide transmission of cholera happens in Renk, it will be catastrophic,” Ochiai predicts.

Doctor Francisco Luquero is the head of the team responsible for high-risk epidemic programs at the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) and was in South Sudan during the 2014-2017 outbreak that affected more than 28,000 people. The doctor explains that since 2019 there have been hardly any cases, and those that have appeared have been very mild thanks to the country’s efforts to control the previous outbreak and the prevention campaigns that have been orchestrated “We know that in these scenarios there is a high risk of transmission and that in these areas it is difficult to provide adequate treatment, so there is concern,” he says over the phone.

With Sudan’s outbreak in mind, World Health Organization (WHO) mechanisms have been activated to avoid cholera’s arrival. These mainly involve the promotion of personal hygiene, especially hand-washing, raising awareness in communities, and distributing hygiene supplies to 3,000 households, including domestic items for transporting water like disinfectants and purifiers. But such measures are nearly impossible to implement when there are thousands of people sleeping outdoors, on muddy ground where rainwater stagnates and forms putrid puddles, and where there is no sewage system or toilets.

Water stagnates between tents where thousands of refugees survive in Renk. ALA KHEIR

A month before cholera had its opening act, fears were already present. In Zero’s mobile clinic, doctor Ferida Manoah hardly had time for a break: many small patients required her attention. Patients like Nya, María’s daughter. The little girl, at just over a year old, was due for a medical check-up. Her mother brought her to the health center, accessible only by a long row of sandbags that had been placed over the stagnant water.

Since she was apparently healthy, María only received some tips on nutrition and hygiene. Above all, the latter. “We have a large number of diarrhea cases and we’ve suspected the presence of typhus, but we aren’t able to test,” said Mahoah. Before the cholera outbreak, diarrhea was the third leading cause of mortality in Renk, after malaria and pneumonia.

A simple, but elusive remedy

The plan to address cholera begins with giving specific information to all health staff and community workers on how to inform authorities if they detect a suspicious case. Until there is confirmation, an outbreak is not announced, but independent of test results, it’s very important to provide treatment to patients to avoid death by dehydration.

Blocking the entrance of the illness at the border would be ideal, but in practice that turns out to be nearly impossible. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has health stations open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., which means that for 10 hours a day there is no one available to test. Not to mention, with 2,000 to 3,000 people crossing every day, even if the stations were open 24 hours, it would be very difficult to evaluate everyone who passes through.

Drinking water station in the field of Joda, where thousands of people wait weeks to be transported to the Renk Transit Center in South Sudan. 

LOLA HIERRO

Luquero thinks that prevention at the border is not realistic because similar to people affected by Covid-19, a patient can be contagious and also asymptomatic, something that occurs in 80% of cases. Nonetheless, for him it “is super necessary to replenish kits to treat the sick, because rehydration saves lives.”

The GAVI leader trusts in the skills South Sudan showed in the past thanks to its prevention strategy. “South Sudan has taken a lot of initiative in vaccination, reactive as well as preventative,” he says. They have implemented various campaigns and since 2019, received more than three million doses through the Global Task Force on Cholera Control. “It’s true that it’s a very fragile country, but it’s also a case in which they’ve been able to successfully control a national outbreak,” he says.

Immunization campaigns, however, have not yet arrived to Renk. Luquero thinks it would be best to solicit them as soon as possible from the International Coordinating Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision, which is in charge of emergency requests. “It’s one method that can be used to access the doses more quickly, linked to the humanitarian crisis in the north, without having to make a global vaccination plan,” he says. “What we need to do is to make a good epidemiological assessment as quickly as possible and, based on that, send the vaccine request as quickly as possible. And I emphasize speed.”

View original: https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-12-12/cholera-crosses-the-sudanese-border-and-bursts-into-south-sudan-refugee-camps.html

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WHO is in Sudan key states delivering health services & supporting several hospitals & mobile clinics

“Despite huge access challenges, WHO is on the ground in key states in Sudan delivering essential health services and supporting several hospitals and mobile clinics. WHO is very concerned about cholera in #Sudan. We have a lot of work to do in response to this serious outbreak, and for that we need access, and we need funds.” -Dr Richard Brennan, Regional Emergency Director, WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region, 27 Nov 2023.

“Despite huge access challenges, WHO is on the ground in key states in Sudan delivering essential health services and supporting several hospitals and mobile clinics.”

- Dr Richard Brennan, Regional Emergency Director, WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region pic.twitter.com/Ph8MbejKzg

— WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (@WHOEMRO) November 27, 2023

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