USAID-DCHA Sudan Complex Emergency Fact Sheet #5

Heavy rains and associated flooding have resulted in significant loss of life, displacement, and property damage across Sudan since July. The Government of Sudan (GoS) has reported that more than 30 people have been killed, and up to 80,000 others have been displaced or otherwise affected. The conflict in Darfur has affected more than 4.7 million people, including up to 2.7 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), of whom an estimated 1.7 million remain in camps. The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), armed opposition groups, militias, and ethnic groups continue to clash, limiting the ability of relief agencies to respond to humanitarian and recovery needs. The Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD), signed on July 14, 2011, is a framework for establishing a comprehensive peace process in Darfur, but to date, only the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) has signed the agreement. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the GoS and the southern-based Sudan People's Liberation Movement officially ended more than two decades of North-South conflict in 2005. The CPA led to the independence of the Republic of South Sudan on July 9, 2011, and between the signing of the CPA and the independence of South Sudan, more than 2 million IDPs and 331,000 refugees returned to South Sudan and the Three Areas of Abyei, Southern Kordofan, and Blue Nile. Humanitarian organizations estimate that fighting in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile has affected approximately 870,000 people to date, including 665,000 individuals internally displaced or otherwise severely affected within the Two Areas. A verification exercise conducted in Kadugli town, the state capital of Southern Kordofan, documented 45,400 IDPs, an increase of 10,000 since mid-May. Since June 2011, more than 205,000 individuals from the Two Areas have crossed Sudan's international borders in search of refuge and humanitarian assistance in South Sudan and Ethiopia. The influx of refugees into South Sudan from Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile peaked in June at rates between 800 and 1,000 individuals per day. As of mid-August, refugees continue to arrive in South Sudan at reduced rates averaging 100 people per day. Relief agencies interpret the population movement trends in the context of continued conflict, the ongoing GoS-imposed moratorium on humanitarian access to SPLM-N-held areas, and the humanitarian community's efforts to respond to the complex emergency in Sudan. The Government of Sudan and the humanitarian community are jointly monitoring the situation through regular meetings of the Floods Task Force, co-chaired by the GoS Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) and the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The GoS reports that it is providing emergency relief and shelter supplies, including tents and plastic sheeting, to flood-affected populations across Sudan. The Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) is assisting with population relocation to safer areas and has provided relief assistance, including food and non-food items, to more than 9,000 flood-affected individuals as of August 14. The U.S. Government has provided significant humanitarian assistance to Sudan, with USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) providing nearly $80.7 million in humanitarian assistance to date in FY 2012. USAID/OFDA funding supports agriculture and food security, health, nutrition, protection, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions, as well as humanitarian coordination and information management, logistics, and the provision of relief commodities. In addition, USAID's Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) has committed more than $181 million in FY 2012 for emergency food assistance to conflict-affected or otherwise vulnerable populations in Sudan.