Growing humanitarian needs in South Kordofan require urgent assistance – IFRC launches appeal

 

 

Growing humanitarian needs in South Kordofan require urgent assistance – IFRC launches appeal

 

GENEVA, Switzerland, July 5, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ — With over 173,000 Sudanese needing humanitarian assistance in South Kordofan and neighbouring states following recent clashes, the IFRC has launched an appeal for 3.7 million Swiss francs.

 

An estimated 70,000 people fled their homes after fighting that centred on the town of Kadugli. Many are without food, drinking water and shelter in the Sudanese states including Abyei and Blue Nile that border South Sudan, which is due to become independent on 9 July. Looting and violence has destroyed homes and livelihoods, leaving many who fled with little left to go back to.

 

“People are still in a state of shock, traumatized by the sudden onset of events, and some are dealing with missing family members, people injured or sick,” said Kamal Dibio Zayid, Sudanese Red Crescent emergency disaster preparedness response coordinator for South Kordofan.

 

Working long shifts, 600 Sudanese Red Crescent volunteers are providing first aid, psychosocial support, and distribution of food and shelter items. Their work is hampered by heavy rains and poor security along the roads to places where people have fled.

 

“People are now coming back and are searching for their belongings and collecting what is left from their battered houses. All properties have been looted. If the houses are intact, they have been stripped of anything of value. Some people have lost everything,” added Kamal Dibio Zayid.

 

The IFRC appeal will support the Sudanese Red Crescent, one of the few humanitarian agencies able to operate in these areas, in continued relief operations.

 

As the independence of South Sudan approaches, tensions are mounting in other states, leading to fears that additional humanitarian assistance will be required. This emergency appeal will ensure the Sudanese Red Crescent is ready to provide immediate humanitarian assistance in the border regions.

 

“The Sudanese Red Crescent is the only humanitarian organisation able to operate in all areas of this part of Sudan,” said Aisha Maulana, IFRC representative in Sudan. “The funding from the appeal will enable us to provide lifesaving food and water, while also ensuring we are ready to respond quickly if the situation changes or needs arise in other states.”

 

SOURCE 

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)