Disease, displacement and hunger escalating in Sudan
Moatinoon
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says that there is an urgent need to intensify humanitarian and development efforts to avoid this escalating disaster. As the conflict in Sudan enters its seventh month, disease, displacement and hunger are on the rise, putting millions more at risk.
UNDP Resident Representative Yuri Afanasiev said urgent action was needed at the present time to stop the escalating humanitarian disaster, protect peoples dignity and lay the groundwork for recovery. As each day of conflict progresses, the impact on the people of the Sudan deepens and the cost of inaction rises.
In a State of the Sudan report, WFP said that the conflict was greatly exacerbating Sudans human development prospects, resulting in heavy losses of human lives, livelihoods, public infrastructure and basic services. Sudans economy is expected to shrink by 12 per cent in 2023 owing to the production standstill and loss of human capital and state capacity. As of November, nearly 5 million people had been internally displaced, and another 1.3 million crossed the border in search of safety, putting enormous pressure on host communities.
The conflict is dramatically worsening Sudan’s already dire Human Development outlook, taking a massive toll on human lives, livelihoods, public infrastructure, and basic services. Sudan’s economy is expected to shrink by 12 percent in 2023 due to halted production, a loss in human capital and state capacity. As of November, almost 5 million people have been internally displaced, and a further 1.3 million have crossed borders seeking safety, putting immense pressure on host communities.
In addition, 20 million people are facing hunger, with over six million just one step away from famine. Cholera outbreaks have been declared in around the country, including in states hosting significant numbers of people displaced by the conflict. It is estimated that 3.1 million people are at risk of contracting the acute watery diarrhoea and cholera by December. Malaria cases have surpassed 800,000.
Recognising that greater investment in development in the acute phase of a crisis can help mitigate a deeper humanitarian catastrophe, UNDP pivoted its existing programmes to respond to emerging life sustaining and conflict resilience needs when conflict broke out in April.
Focusing on providing access to energy, clean water, restoring healthcare facilities, providing essential medicines and supporting farmers to maintain their crops, UNDP’s Sudan Crisis Offer is designed to complement humanitarian life-saving efforts with life-sustaining support.
UNDP is also currently undertaking a socioeconomic impact analysis, which will help define the scale of devastation wrought across the country since April. The analysis will also inform recovery planning for critical infrastructure and the creation of livelihoods towards improved access to basic services.
However, as with humanitarian efforts, development interventions remain critically underfunded where greater support is urgently needed.
"Right now, we are working with affected communities to ensure they have the essentials they need to survive. But so much more needs to be done. With numbers of people displaced rising daily, and disease outbreaks happening with increasing frequency and severity, we need greater support to scale up our programmes to reach more people in need,” said Afanasiev.
