TRÓCAIRE has issued a stark warning over the humanitarian crisis in war-torn Sudan as over 25 million people – half of the population – are currently facing the real risk of starvation. The warning came as the agency urged people in Belfast to support its Christmas Appeal for ‘Children in Conflict’.
Peter Heaney, Trócaire’s Head of Region for NI, said: “This is a crisis of historic proportions. The world has neglected the people of Sudan over the past 20 months. More than 14 million people have had to flee their homes because of the conflict with little to no access to food, shelter and basic necessities. Approximately one-in-seven of the world’s internally displaced people are Sudanese.”
Belfast man David O'Hare who is part of Trócaire’s NI team has recently returned from Sudan, and speaking at the agency's Christmas Appeal launch, said: “I have worked in the humanitarian sector for nearly twenty years and yet I am still finding it difficult to comprehend the scale of this catastrophe. This has been recognised as the greatest humanitarian crisis in the world today. Millions of people are on the move with nothing – no food, no water and no possessions. Millions of women and children are at particular risk in this situation from malnutrition and from violence.
“In the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan the humanitarian crisis is particularly severe. Firstly, the conflict has resulted in so many people fleeing to the region because of the fighting elsewhere in the country. Secondly, the last harvest was very poor because of a lack of rain and a plague of locusts. This has meant there has been no surplus or safety net for people here who have shared what they have with the newcomers and that has exacerbated the situation.”
Mothers and their children wait for treatment at Trócaire’s Amdulu Health Centre in the Nuba Mountains, Sudan Photo: David O’Hare, Trócaire
Many of those who have been forced to flee have ended up in camps where conditions are dire with a lack of food and healthcare.
“I visited several camps and heard first-hand of the awful journeys people had to make to get there. One mother, Madina, was forced to walk for six days with her seven children to reach Thobo IDP camp. They had no food and had to eat leaves and grasses to stay alive. Her son Muriambi was extremely malnourished. He was treated in the nearby Trócaire clinic. When I met the little boy I would have guessed he was three years of age. He is nine. Severe malnutrition over a prolonged period of time had stunted his growth. However, the Trócaire staff told me his health has vastly improved since he first arrived. Unfortunately, there are so many women with experiences similar to Madina’s in the Nuba Mountains,” David said.
In South Kordofan and Blue Nile State, Trócaire is providing support for 15 rural health centres and 11 nutrition outreach sites focusing on: primary health care services; maternal and child health; immunisation; malaria prevention, control and treatment; nutrition treatment for children under five; and capacity strengthening to partner staff, communities, and local authorities. Trócaire is also providing emergency food aid and medical care in the camps.
“We have witnessed this crisis unfold from an opportunity for democratic reform, to a battle for power with little regard for those in its path. This is a man-made crisis, today, in real-time, forgotten, ignored even. Nothing will echo louder now for the people of Sudan than the silencing of the guns and the world’s haste in providing them support. Help delayed is help denied,” Peter Heaney added.
“It’s not just Sudan where children are suffering the effects of conflict. From Gaza to Ukraine, from Ethiopia to South Sudan, children are living in conflict zones. In many cases they have no food, no safe water to drink, no shelter. We are asking people in Belfast, if they can, to donate to our Christmas Appeal which will provide support for children in these terrible conditions as well as supporting critical work across Trócaire’s global programmes. Donations can be made at www.trocaire.org or by calling 0800 912 1200.”
