Sudan: Welthungerhilfe Prepares to Support Refugees
The humanitarian crisis in Sudan is growing. Welthungerhilfe is providing additional money for new emergency aid measures.
Bonn/Berlin, 11 May 2023. Welthungerhilfe is allocating an additional EUR 300,000 to new emergency-aid measures in response to the current crisis in Sudan. These measures will support people who have fled to safe parts of the country, seeking refuge from the ongoing fighting.
In Port Sudan around 20,000 people have been living in public spaces without clean water, food, or shelter for days; many of them are refugees for the second time, having fled to Sudan years ago to escape the civil wars in Syria or Yemen. In the states of Kassala and Gedaref, Welthungerhilfe staff are planning interventions to assist people affected by the violence. At the same time preparations are also being made to support people who have fled from Sudan to bordering countries, including South Sudan and the Central African Republic.
“People are desperate because they lack everything they need to survive: water, food, shelter, and medical care. For many, this is not their first time being displaced. We are mobilising our forces throughout the country to provide effective and rapid aid,” says the country director, Michael Gabriel, describing the situation on the ground. He returned to Port Sudan two days ago.
Around four weeks ago, a power struggle in the capital, Khartoum, led to heavy fighting in the city and beyond, causing a big wave of people to flee to other parts of the country and abroad. Around 700,000 people have been displaced within Sudan, and thousands have sought refuge in neighbouring countries. Most fled with little more than the clothes on their back and now require survival aid. Even before the latest crisis, the UN estimated that some 16 million people in Sudan required assistance to survive.
Welthungerhilfe has been active in Sudan since 1998. With around 200 national and international staff members in Khartoum and in the states of North Darfur, Red Sea, Kassala, and Gedaref, it supported around 2.6 million people in 2022.
Michael Gabriel is available for interview as an English-speaking member of the staff in Sudan.
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Welthungerhilfe is one of the largest private aid organisations in Germany and has no political or religious affiliations. It is fighting for “Zero Hunger by 2030”. Since its inception, it has provided funding of EUR 4.46 billion for more than 10,895 overseas projects in 70 countries. Welthungerhilfe operates according to the foundational principle of help for self-help, which it implements with measures ranging from rapid disaster relief to rehabilitation to long-term development cooperation projects with national and international partner organisations.
