Norwegian support allows UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, to provide people forced to flee with food, clean water, shelter and medical care in Sudan.
Sudan is hosting one of the highest numbers of displaced people on the African continent, including over 1.1 million refugees – mainly from South Sudan – while 3.7 million Sudanese are internally displaced in the country.
In the past year, insecurity and displacement have increased in Sudan due to political instability and outbreaks of intercommunal violence. The surge of violence is driven by competition for land and water, lack of jobs, and other socioeconomic factors. Furthermore, East Africa is on the frontlines of climate change, suffering the impact of extreme weather such as flooding and drought.
The rains and floods have submerged houses and farmlands and killed livestock in both Sudan and South Sudan. For those who have fled violence, the floods have created a crisis on top of a crisis.
Norway’s unearmarked as well as targeted funding helps UNHCR respond to the increasing needs of both refugees and internally displaced people, as well as their host communities in Sudan.
UNHCR has assisted more than 4,000 students with exam fees to enable participation in national exams from April to June, promoting integration into national school systems. Additionally, UNHCR has provided more than 1,900 classroom kits and constructed, rehabilitated and maintained 37 classrooms in Sudan as of November 2022.
UNHCR addresses gender-based violence through awareness-raising and capacity-building sessions for community leaders, community-based protection networks, officials, and NGOs across Sudan. As of November 2022, 1,393 awareness raising campaigns were conducted. Together with partners, UNHCR has also provided support and protection services for 461 identified survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, including medical, psychosocial and legal support.
UNHCR, with partners, has treated more than 76,000 children under the age of five for malnutrition. Additionally, UNHCR has facilitated over 26,000 reproductive health sessions for pregnant women and infants to enable a safe pregnancy, childbirth and infancy.
In order to improve access to safe water and adequate sanitation facilities, UNHCR and partners have facilitated access to an average of 16 litres per person/per day of safe drinking water for more than 487,000 refugees in Sudan by maintaining and providing operational support to water systems.
More than 27,000 refugees in Sudan have received multipurpose cash transfers from UNHCR, while 4,000 Internally displaced households are being assisted with Cash for Emergency Shelter (as of November 2022). Cash assistance allows refugees to prioritize and fulfil their needs in a dignified way and contributes to the local economy.
As of the end of June 2022, UNHCR and World Food Program (WFP) have provided more than 482,000 refugees in Sudan with full food rations. One full food ration provides the daily 2100 kilocalories to meet monthly nutritional needs. The refugees either receive cash transfers to buy the food themselves, or receive distributed food items.
Together with partners, UNHCR has provided healthcare for displaced people across Sudan, including more than 400,000 medical consultations. Areas hosting refugees often have limited health infrastructure and suffer medical personnel and supplies shortages. UNHCR and WHO provide medicines and medical supplies to health facilities in these areas.
So far, in 2022, more than 157,000 refugees in Darfur, Sudan, have been registered by Sudan’s Commission of Refugees and UNHCR. Registration and documentation of refugees are vital in ensuring protection, identifying individuals with specific needs, and providing their referral to an available service. Accordingly, UNHCR provided legal counselling and children’s civil status registration or documentation.
As of November 2022, UNHCR and partners have constructed more than 2,500 durable, weather-resistant shelters in refugee camps in the eastern part of Sudan. By mid-year 2022, UNHCR has provided more than 7,000 refugee households in Sudan with shelter support.
As of August 2022, UNHCR has improved sanitation facilities benefitting more than 92,000 people in Sudan. Additionally, UNHCR provided dignity kits to internally displaced women and girls.
As of mid-year 2022, UNHCR has distributed non-food items such as blankets, mattresses, and jerry cans to more than 30,000 households, including refugees and internally displaced in Sudan.
Through the “Telling the Real Story”-project, UNHCR has reached refugees and other people we serve in mixed flows with trustworthy information on the risks of irregular movement and strengthened the communication with communities.
Norway as a donor
Norway is a longstanding partner of UNHCR and a top donor of unearmarked funding, allowing the agency to respond to and prepare for emergencies. Thus far in 2022, Norway has provided UNHCR with over USD 109.2 million globally, of which USD 72.5 million is unearmarked. More than USD 554,000 is targeting the Sudan operation, and over USD 518,000 is targeting the South Sudan situation.
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