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Dept for International Development

Answer

Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in (a) Sudan and (b) the Darfur region. [186478] Hilary Benn: Sudan is a country in the midst of a chronic complex emergency. UN social indicators continue to be among the lowest in the world. Large areas of the country outside the more affluent area of Khartoum continue to need life-saving and life- sustaining assistance. Continuing conflict in many areas has resulted in persistently high levels of poverty as agricultural production is disrupted and land taken out of cultivation due to instability. With the expectation of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement in the coming months, humanitarian needs are likely to increase as the needs of returning internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees from the conflict between the north and south of Sudan add to those affected by natural disaster. In Southern Sudan, 23 years of conflict has created critical food insecurity, an almost total lack of primary health care outside of what is provided by NGOs, and crisis levels of mortality and morbidity across the area. The conflict is estimated to have displaced 4 million people out of a total population of 5 million, some of whom are now refugees and some are IDPs. (A breakdown of this is provided in the table). The critical issue for the humanitarian community in the south is ensuring a stable and sustainable environment to help displaced people to return home. While the Comprehensive Peace Agreement holds out the prospect of peace in Southern Sudan, fighting continues, with an outbreak of militia activity in the Shilluk Kingdom, which has displaced 50,000 people since March 2004. Other areas of concern in Sudan include the Red Sea State in Northern Sudan, where the population of 700,00 has suffered persistent drought and repeated crop failures since 1988. The rainfall and predicted agricultural production for 2004 is better than the last few years, but due to the prolonged nature of the crisis, a large proportion of the general population is likely to remain short of food and to require food and nutritional assistance for some time to come. Summary of Sudanese IDPs and refugees _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Number Source IDPs Greater Khartoum 2,000,000 + ½ ½ Norwegian Refugee Northern Sudan (not 362,000 Ç Council, 2004 and UN Khartoum or Darfur) ½ OCHA, 2004 Darfur 1,000,000+ ½ Southern Sudan 750,000+ + Total 4,112,000 Sudanese refugees Uganda 223,000 + ½ Chad 110,000 ½ Ethiopia 90,000 ½ Democratic Republic of 70,000 ½ UN High Commissioner for the Congo Ç Refugees (UNHCR), 2004 Kenya 68,000 ½ Central African 36,000 ½ Republic ½ Egypt 30,000 ½ Eritrea 660 + Total 627,660 Refugees in Sudan Total from Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea and 270,000 UNHCR, 2004 others _________________________________________________________________________________________________. The humanitarian situation in Darfur remains dire and urgent action is needed on all sides. Over 1.2 million people have been internally displaced in Darfur, and a further 200,000 have fled to Chad. The needs are enormous. Security in the camps has improved, but reports of attacks continue outside the camps, and IDPs, refugees and host communities in Darfur and Eastern Chad remain vulnerable as inter-tribal fighting continues and the levels of banditry and general insecurity remain. IDPs and refugees still lack adequate water and sanitation and many do not have adequate shelter against the rain and extreme conditions. Outbreaks of disease are a serious concern (a hepatitis E outbreak has already been diagnosed in West Darfur). Aid agencies are scaling up delivery of assistance, but capacity constraints remain. The UN estimates that 1,000 international staff are needed to cope with the crisis; 500 are currently working in Darfur. Humanitarian access has however improved and over 45 NGOs are registered, although not all are operational. The rainy season from May to September has also resulted in logistical difficulties, with the World Food Programme (WFP) resorting to airdrops of food in some inaccessible areas. A further constraint is that resources are still limited. The UN has revised its appeal for the crisis in Darfur and now estimates that it needs a total of $530 million for Chad and Darfur, of which $255 million is unmet. The UK is the second largest bilateral donor to the humanitarian response, having allocated £62.5 million since September 2003. DFID is urging other donors to do more.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

424 c1427-8W;424 c1425-6W; 186478

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Armed conflict International assistance Droughts Refugees Sudan Internally displaced people Peace negotiations Darfur Resettlement

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk