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Time to Surge Aid to Sudan
More than 25 million Sudanese face acute hunger. Some 11 million have fled their homes in what has become the worst humanitarian crisis on the planet, warned U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
This humanitarian catastrophe didn’t just happen; it was brought on by a senseless war that has brought about unspeakable violence and by blockades of food, water, and medicine, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield said.
“In this moment, the international community needs to do everything in our power to silence the guns, and massively scale up aid,” urged Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield:
“Last February, in Zamzam camp in Darfur, a child was dying every two hours due to starvation. More than seven months later, we know the situation has only gotten worse. Every day, more and more children are starving. Starving, wasting, dying.”
Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield called for “humanitarian pauses [in the fighting] in El Fasher, Khartoum, and other highly vulnerable areas to allow aid to flow and civilians to flee.”
“But both parties [Rapid Support Forces and Sudanese Defense Forces] are responsible. Both parties must eliminate barriers to humanitarian access along all routes. And this includes opening the Adre crossing permanently, and ensuring the protection and safety of brave humanitarian workers,” she said.
The international community must be ready to surge aid at a moment’s notice, said Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield:
“I’m announcing that the United States is contributing an additional $424 million to the emergency humanitarian response in Sudan and neighboring countries. This funding is part of the $2 billion the U.S. has contributed since the start of this conflict.”
This additional assistance from the American people includes more than $147 million from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration and nearly $276 million through the United States Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance.
All those with influence must press the parties to put down their weapons and come to the negotiating table, stressed Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield. “Colleagues, we all have a responsibility here to do anything and everything we can to put Sudan back on the path to democracy, peace, and prosperity. To end the suffering of the Sudanese people. To end this horrific war.”