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UN appeals for aid for Sudan's humanitarian crisis
MEDICINE AND HEALTH POLICY
MEDICINE AND HEALTH POLICY
UN appeals for aid for Sudan’s humanitarian crisis Rights were not granted to include this image in electronic media. Please refer to the printed journal.
PA Photos
he UN has appealed for US$236 million to help an estimated 2·2 million people affected by the conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region. “If we do not get these [funds] within the next 90 days, an estimated 300 000 people in the region will die of disease, hunger, and other causes”, warns Elizabeth Byrs of UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Byrs’ statement came 2 days after donor nations met in Geneva, Switzerland, to formulate their response to the Sudan crisis. “Some donors made good pledges, but it is not clear how much of the funds they have pledged would be available within the next 3 months”, she said. The funds are needed to provide food, basic health care, water, and shelter to people hit by the crisis. She warned that people in Darfur will soon begin dying in “huge numbers” if aid did not reach there immediately. Already, child mortality rates in many areas within the region are three times greater than the international threshold for such emergencies, warned WHO, which last week appealed for $7·6 million to respond to the health crisis in Darfur. “There is an urgent need for skilled and experienced international senior public health specialists, together with surgeons, physicians, nurses, and logisticians, to work in Darfur . . . They need equipment and supplies in order to be effective”, WHO said. Regarded as “the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today”, it began early last year after two rebel groups—the the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), drawn
T
More than 1 million people have been displaced in Sudan
mostly from black African tribes—took up arms against the government, demanding a greater share in Sudan’s wealth and better services for the region. Last April, SLA rebels destroyed seven parked military planes, and wounded and held many Sudanese military personnel in El Fashir in Darfur. The government and the Arab militia (known as Janjaweed) it backs reacted by killing thousands of civilians, burning villages, and depopulating large areas that have traditionally belonged to black African tribes. As a result, the UN says, more than 1·2 million people have been internally displaced and a further 110 000 people have taken refugee in bordering Chad.
The human rights groups, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, voiced concerns little has been done to address the root cause of the problem. “Humanitarian aid is urgently needed, but it is not enough. A political solution is necessary: the Sudanese government’s ethnic cleansing must not stand”, said Kenneth Roth from Human Rights Watch. The organisation also called on the UN to investigate the widespread abuses and to take measures to reverse “ethnic cleansing”. But Byrs said that money is needed to investigate the alleged human rights abuses. “We will investigate these reports as soon as possible, but we need funds to do that”, she said.
THE LANCET • Vol 363 • June 12, 2004 • www.thelancet.com
For personal use. Only reproduce with permission from The Lancet.
On April 8, the Sudanese government and the rebel groups signed a ceasefire agreement. But, according to Human Rights Watch, the killings and rapes have continued. Two weeks ago, parties to the conflict agreed to commission the African Union to send observers to Darfur to monitor the agreed ceasefire. However, Amnesty International questioned how effective these monitors will be. “It is not clear how effective 90 monitors—60 military and 30 civilians—will be in an area the size of France where daily killings and rapes are still being reported”, Amnesty said. A key concern among aid groups is that displaced families have already depleted their food stocks and face severe food shortages. “Malnutrition rates we just saw among children in Darfur are alarmingly high”, said UNICEF’s Samson Agbo. “Wherever we went, the greatest fear among internally displaced people was that rains—which have already begun in some parts of Darfur—will soon cover the entire region, cut off the aid, and further add to their miseries”, Ago told The Lancet. Amid the crisis, WHO and UNICEF began a measles vaccination programme last weekend. In a month-long campaign, the agencies hope to reach 2·26 million children throughout June. “We have the potential to save up to 50 000 lives by preventing a measles outbreak here”, said UNICEF’s executive director, Carol Bellamy. “Almost a quarter of the children are already showing signs of malnourishment, making the threat of the measles virus even greater.” Abdullah Khan
1961
MEDICINE AND HEALTH POLICY
UN appeals for aid for Sudan’s humanitarian crisis Rights were not granted to include this image in electronic media. Please refer to the printed journal.
PA Photos
he UN has appealed for US$236 million to help an estimated 2·2 million people affected by the conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region. “If we do not get these [funds] within the next 90 days, an estimated 300 000 people in the region will die of disease, hunger, and other causes”, warns Elizabeth Byrs of UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Byrs’ statement came 2 days after donor nations met in Geneva, Switzerland, to formulate their response to the Sudan crisis. “Some donors made good pledges, but it is not clear how much of the funds they have pledged would be available within the next 3 months”, she said. The funds are needed to provide food, basic health care, water, and shelter to people hit by the crisis. She warned that people in Darfur will soon begin dying in “huge numbers” if aid did not reach there immediately. Already, child mortality rates in many areas within the region are three times greater than the international threshold for such emergencies, warned WHO, which last week appealed for $7·6 million to respond to the health crisis in Darfur. “There is an urgent need for skilled and experienced international senior public health specialists, together with surgeons, physicians, nurses, and logisticians, to work in Darfur . . . They need equipment and supplies in order to be effective”, WHO said. Regarded as “the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today”, it began early last year after two rebel groups—the the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), drawn
T
More than 1 million people have been displaced in Sudan
mostly from black African tribes—took up arms against the government, demanding a greater share in Sudan’s wealth and better services for the region. Last April, SLA rebels destroyed seven parked military planes, and wounded and held many Sudanese military personnel in El Fashir in Darfur. The government and the Arab militia (known as Janjaweed) it backs reacted by killing thousands of civilians, burning villages, and depopulating large areas that have traditionally belonged to black African tribes. As a result, the UN says, more than 1·2 million people have been internally displaced and a further 110 000 people have taken refugee in bordering Chad.
The human rights groups, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, voiced concerns little has been done to address the root cause of the problem. “Humanitarian aid is urgently needed, but it is not enough. A political solution is necessary: the Sudanese government’s ethnic cleansing must not stand”, said Kenneth Roth from Human Rights Watch. The organisation also called on the UN to investigate the widespread abuses and to take measures to reverse “ethnic cleansing”. But Byrs said that money is needed to investigate the alleged human rights abuses. “We will investigate these reports as soon as possible, but we need funds to do that”, she said.
THE LANCET • Vol 363 • June 12, 2004 • www.thelancet.com
For personal use. Only reproduce with permission from The Lancet.
On April 8, the Sudanese government and the rebel groups signed a ceasefire agreement. But, according to Human Rights Watch, the killings and rapes have continued. Two weeks ago, parties to the conflict agreed to commission the African Union to send observers to Darfur to monitor the agreed ceasefire. However, Amnesty International questioned how effective these monitors will be. “It is not clear how effective 90 monitors—60 military and 30 civilians—will be in an area the size of France where daily killings and rapes are still being reported”, Amnesty said. A key concern among aid groups is that displaced families have already depleted their food stocks and face severe food shortages. “Malnutrition rates we just saw among children in Darfur are alarmingly high”, said UNICEF’s Samson Agbo. “Wherever we went, the greatest fear among internally displaced people was that rains—which have already begun in some parts of Darfur—will soon cover the entire region, cut off the aid, and further add to their miseries”, Ago told The Lancet. Amid the crisis, WHO and UNICEF began a measles vaccination programme last weekend. In a month-long campaign, the agencies hope to reach 2·26 million children throughout June. “We have the potential to save up to 50 000 lives by preventing a measles outbreak here”, said UNICEF’s executive director, Carol Bellamy. “Almost a quarter of the children are already showing signs of malnourishment, making the threat of the measles virus even greater.” Abdullah Khan
1961