Red Cross Movement Responds to Crisis in Sudan

Main Category: Aid / Disasters
Article Date: 30 Jun 2004 - 8:00 PST

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In the crowded camps of refugees and displaced people in western Sudan and Chad, parents are forced to wait and watch as their children slowly die of malnutrition and thirst, without even the basics of food or clean water they need to stay healthy. A famine could be creeping over the country, sparking a massive humanitarian response that unfortunately may be too little, too late for some.

Since February 2003 a humanitarian crisis in Sudan has forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes and into camps, primarily along the border with neighboring Chad. The Sudanese Red Crescent, along with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is working to ensure the safety and health of this displaced population in the face of continuing obstacles.

The ICRC was one of the first humanitarian organizations to respond following the outbreak of violence in February 2003. Since March 2004, the ICRC has provided water and sanitation materials for close to 500,000 people in the region, as well as shelter, clothing and household materials for up to 300,000. The organization is also providing support for medical facilities and enough food to sustain 100,000 people for six months.

After civil hostilities erupted into violence early this year, the displaced population in Sudan was forcibly removed from their homes by armed militiamen, forcing them to seek shelter in camps, primarily in the Darfur region in Western Sudan. The Sudanese Red Crescent society has played an important role in responding to this crisis, and the ICRC has allocated additional funding to help with vehicles, relief goods and other needs.

Other aid organizations are also supporting those now living in the camps in western Sudan and Chad, where security, shelter, food, water, and health services are available.

The ICRC is hoping to make up for a lack of assistance provided to the camps when aid organizations were denied access to affected areas. "Between November 2003 and February 2004, access was simply denied," said Jacques de Maio, ICRC's Head of Operations for the Horn of Africa. Since then things have improved, but instability in some areas continues to prevent appropriate access to meet the needs of the internally displaced and refugees.

"The Sudan now is the third biggest operation on earth," said de Maio. "We have close to 50 expatriates working with plans to increase to 80, along with some 500 Darfuri nationally recruited colleagues [working in the region]."

Humanitarian efforts right now are focused on water and sanitation, targeting half a million people in three states in the Darfur province. Aid organizations are also working to rehabilitate and support hospitals and clinics.

De Maio called the ICRC's work in Sudan "one of the most challenging, difficult and complex operations on earth."

In camps and across towns, aid workers predict that many will die from hunger and malnutrition plaguing the camps.

Another massive component of the operation is family tracing services, which are primarily centered in Chad and other parts of the Sudan where people are searching for lost loved ones. Since March, more than 500 tracing requests for more than 1,200 people have been filed, including 70 children that have been separated from their families.

U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice said Sunday that the U.S. had committed $100 million for humanitarian efforts, and that more funds were likely to be made available.

You can help those affected by this crisis and countless others around the world each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, which will provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need. Call 1-800-HELP NOW or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the International Response Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting http://www.redcross.org

Written by Lesly Hallman , Staff Writer, RedCross.org