Geneva, July 30(Darfur24)
The Deputy Coordinator for the United Nations Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan, Toby Harward, expressed his fear that the continuation of the war will lead to the death of many innocents people in Darfur from malnutrition and other preventable diseases, if the amounts of aid crossing the border from Chad and those coming through the contact lines from Port Sudan are not increased.
Harward’s statements came at a press conference held at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Monday, in which he participated via video conference from Chad to talk about his recent visit to Darfur, where he spent two weeks with a UN team, with the aim of exploring the possibility of re-establishing a permanent UN presence in Darfur, and speaking with local authorities there.
The UN official said that they met tens of thousands of displaced people in Zalingei, the capital of Central Darfur State, Jebel Marra and the surrounding areas.
He added: “The situation is very desperate. “We were told by leaders of the Zalingei IDP camp that some of the IDPs were surviving on leaves, grain husks and the remains of peanuts. They said that between three and five children were dying every day, although we were unable to independently confirm these figures,” he said.
He stressed that the IDPs he met in Jebel Marra were begging for basic shelter items such as plastic sheeting, floor mats, blankets and mosquito nets, as well as food, nutrition and medical supplies.
“There are 70 IDPs living in one classroom. And of course, all the classrooms are overcrowded. Education has been stopped for a long time,” he said.
He said they had received reports from MSF, the International Medical Corps and a number of other NGOs that “large numbers of children and vulnerable people are dying in hard-to-reach areas when they cannot reach the few clinics and hospitals that are functioning.”
The UN official spoke of some positive signs, noting that many displaced people said they felt safe in Jebel Marra in areas controlled by the Sudan Liberation Movement and Army led by Abdul Wahid al-Nur.
He added: “The host communities are doing a great job, sharing what little food they have with the local population and the new displaced, although their food stocks are running out very quickly.”
He expressed hope that if the agricultural season there is successful, this will reduce the number of people falling into IPC Phases 5 and 4, according to the latest update in June.
Harward touched on another positive development: local truces, where the de facto authorities, the Rapid Support Forces, the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdul Wahid al-Nur and local militias, agreed to a truce on a “critical” access road between Nertiti and Zalingei, which now allows people to walk on this road and feel safe enough to carry out agricultural activities.