Sudan

Situation Report
Feature
Director-of-OAD-Reena-Ghelani-visits-a-water-project-in-Al-Salam-area WDarfur 21Sept20-(5)
Children collect water from a mini-water yard funded by the Sudan Humanitarian Fund and run by the NGO International Aid Services (IAS) in Al Salam area.

Director of OCHA visits SHF funded projects in West Darfur

The Chair of the IASC Emergency Directors’ Group (and Director of OCHA Operations and Advocacy Division), Reena Ghelani, visited Sudan from 18 to 21 October on a three-day mission to better understand the humanitarian situation, advocate for continued support, and discuss coordination following a significant increase in needs in the country.

During her visit, Ms. Ghelani met with government officials and representatives of NGOs, UN agencies and development partners. She also visited West Darfur State to get a better understanding of the situation, the impact of the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) drawdown and ongoing humanitarian response. While in El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, she visited a new internally displaced persons (IDP) gathering point, Dahkhiliat Al Zahraa. Some of the IDPs she met shared their experiences of why they were temporarily displaced to government buildings following inter-communal fighting between Arab and African tribes in their home area of Mesteri.

At Hujaj IDP Camp, she visited a health facility run by the State Ministry of Health with support from the NGO World Relief and funded by the Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SHF). The health facility serves 5,200 people living in the camp as well as nearby host and returnee communities. The SHF has supported the clinic with funds for medical equipment, medicines, pays healthcare staff and to set up a network of community health promoters. The SHF funds will also be used to construct four semi-permanent rooms to replace the health clinic structures which were built of local materials. The health clinic provides integrated health services including reproductive health and immunizations. While in Hujaj IDP Camp, Ms. Ghelani met with representatives of the IDP community—women, youth and men—who raised concerns on rising malaria cases and water shortages in the camp.

She also visited a water project funded by the SHF and run by the NGO International Aid Services in Al Salam area. SHF funds were used to upgrade an existing non-functioning hand pump into a solar-powered mini-water yard providing improved access to sustainable water services to some 3,000 people from the IDP, returnee and host communities in the area. The water project also helped reduce protection risks, especially for women and girls, who used to travel long distances to fetch water for their families.

Ms. Ghelani left Sudan with a better understanding of humanitarian needs, and how they are being compounded by an economic crisis, the worst floods in decades, disease outbreaks, and violence. As partners continue to assist millions of vulnerable people, more assistance is needed and the time to help Sudan is now.

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