UN seeks $1bn for humanitarian projects in Sudan

The United Nations said on Wednesday that it wants to come up with $983 million in order to finance 364 projects in conflict ridden parts of Sudan. Ali al-Zaatari, the UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan speaking at a press conference to announce the kickoff of the UN plan for humanitarian aid in 2013, said that there are 3.4 million people in need of assistance including Southern Sudanese who are stranded in the North. He stressed that the real challenge to United Nations agencies is to address the situation of one million displaced people living in camps and noted that the number of those needing assistance in Sudan has increased over last year. the UN official pointed out that Sudan is still facing enormous challenges due to conflicts in Darfur and South Kordofan which has negatively impacted the lives of many people. The UN has estimated that tens of thousands have fled their areas in Darfur following clashes between rebels and government troops that erupted in late December. Last January the UN humanitarian operations director John Ging warned that the humanitarian situation in restive states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile is quickly deteriorating and that " tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people are living in such desperate and deplorable circumstances". Al-Zaatari warned that funding for UN humanitarian work in Sudan has fallen by 8% which will force some international organizations operating in Sudan to leave. This he said, will require Khartoum to bridge the gap using local aid groups. Sudan’s General Commissioner for humanitarian affairs Suleiman Abdul Rahman said that the UN plan for 2013 was developed by all partners in the humanitarian work including United Nations agencies, donors and national organizations. He emphasized that the plan is consistent with the government’s guidelines for voluntary work indicating that Khartoum will do its best to enhance coordination and to overcome difficulties encountered in the field of humanitarian work. From SUDAN TRIBUNE