Michael Gabriel is Country Director of Welthungerhilfe in Sudan. In this interview, he talks about the current situation, further dangers and possibilities for an end to the conflict.
Statement on the Sudan Pledging Conference 2023
A statement by Michael Gabriel, Country Director of Welthungerhilfe in Sudan, on the occasion of the high-level pledging event to support the humanitarian response in Sudan and the region on Monday 19 June.
The situation in Sudan remains extremely volatile. There is still fighting in Khartoum and in the Darfur region. And very recently a new level of violence was seen in the public execution of the governor of West Darfur state, in front of the public gathering where he was giving a speech denouncing violence and genocide.
In Khartoum and in many areas across the country, the economy has largely collapsed and people are in desperate need of food, water, medicine, and all sorts of daily needs. Even before the outbreak of violence about two months ago, almost one-third of the population was facing hunger in Sudan. According to estimates by the UN WFP the number of people who are food insecure could increase from 12 million to 19 million people.
We hope the pledging conference will mobilise resources to tackle the escalating humanitarian situation in Sudan. Even before the current crisis, the response was massively underfunded and only 16% of the financial needs were covered. Needs have also increased in already fragile neighboring countries who now bear additional burdens with the support of refugees.
But the conference should also highlight the current access challenges including bureaucratic and administrative impediments, attacks on aid workers and humanitarian facilities. Third, the conference should promote respect for international humanitarian and refugee law to protect civilians and to enable Sudanese people fleeing conflict to access asylum in neighboring countries.
To date, in eastern Sudan where the security situation remains calm and stable, Welthungerhilfe (WHH) is working with local authorities and aid agencies to assess the needs on the ground, and with funding from the German Federal Foreign Office will provide assistance such as emergency shelter, water and sanitation for displaced people.
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Notes to the editor:
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Michael Gabriel, Country Director of Welthungerhilfe (WHH) in Sudan is available for interviews.
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On 19 June, the United Nations, the Governments of Egypt, Germany, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, the African Union and the European Union will convene a high-level pledging event in Geneva (Switzerland) to support the humanitarian response in Sudan and the region. https://www.unocha.org/SudanHLPE2023
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Welthungerhilfe has been active in Sudan since 1998. With around 200 national and international staff members it supported around 2.6 million people in 2022.
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Welthungerhilfe is one of the largest private aid organisations in Germany and enjoys both political and religious independence. It is fighting for “Zero Hunger by 2030”. Since being founded in 1962, it has provided funding of EUR 4.46 billion for more than 10,895 overseas projects in 70 countries. Welthungerhilfe bases its efforts on the 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.
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