“On the Verge of a Humanitarian Catastrophe”
Over 3 Million People Could Die of Hunger as War Crimes Mount
Local authorities in the Nuba Mountains are amplifying their call for humanitarian assistance as fear of widespread starvation intensifies, and the number of people at risk of dying from hunger climbs to more than 3 million.
The immense population of refugees who’ve fled to the vast and remote region of Nuba are a result of the unrelenting war raging in Sudan’s capital – a war that continues to spread across the country over a year later, forcing the displacement of over 10 million people.
Rania Bakeker Wanza, spokesperson for the regional administration in Nuba, issued an appeal for immediate help saying the region is “on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe” and “there is no food, clean drinking water, or medicine.”
“Over three million people in the Nuba Mountains are facing death because of hunger and we appeal to all the national and international organizations to intervene,” said Bakeker.
She also pointed to a failed harvest this year due to malevolent weather, followed by a locust invasion that devastated crops and caused additional food insecurity.
“All these have led to health problems and malnutrition among IDPs, especially children, the elderly, and pregnant women in the camps,” she reported.
Longtime medical missionary, Dr. Tom Catena, and the director of Mother of Mercy Hospital – the only referral hospital in the Nuba Mountains – confirmed to Sudan Relief Fund the situation is the worst he has seen in fifteen years.
Sudan Relief Fund has partnered with donors to establish local health clinics throughout the Nuba Mountains, currently the only source of medicine and medical treatment available to thousands of refugees across Nuba.
We also continue to provide transportation and food assistance to refugee camps like Malakal in the northern region of South Sudan, as more families fleeing the expanding warzone continue to cross the border to find safety.
Human Rights Atrocities Pose Another Threat to Civilians
In addition to the threat of starvation, widespread concern has grown over human rights violations afflicting civilians caught in the throes of Sudan’s civil war.
The humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders (known as Medecins Sans Frontieres or MSF) is calling the conflict “a war on people.”
MSF reported finding a “shocking level” of indiscriminate violence being perpetrated against civilians from powers on both sides of the conflict. MSF Emergency Coordinator, Ada Yee, described, “There seems to be an uncaring notion that human life will be sacrificed as a result of collateral damage.”
MSF reported civilians being attacked and killed inside their homes, at checkpoints, and even in hospitals. They further reported that sexual violence has become “a characteristic feature” of the war, with women and girls commonly suffering rape in homes, along displacement routes, and at checkpoint centers.
Forty percent of 135 survivors MSF interviewed said they had been assaulted by multiple attackers.
Ada Yee described the humanitarian situation in Sudan as the most desperate situation she’s seen. “It’s so difficult that many aid groups just don’t have the resources to operate there.” Yee called Sudan effectively “a humanitarian desert.”
Aid workers fear survivors of the brutal conflict will need not just medical care but also psychosocial support for trauma. Sexual violence still carries a stigma in Sudan, making it difficult to create an environment for victims to be heard.
Support Sudan Relief Fund’s aid work in Sudan and South Sudan during this humanitarian crisis.
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Read the full article on the threat of starvation here.
