Today's top news: Sudan, Nigeria, Ukraine

Sudan

 
The number of people internally displaced by the fighting has more than doubled in the past week. The International Organization for Migration says more than 700,000 people are now internally displaced by the violence – that’s compared to 340,000 people as of last Tuesday. Before the fighting began, some 3.7 million people were already internally displaced in Sudan, mainly in Darfur.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) says it will need nearly 13,000 tons of food to reach some 384,000 people across the states of Gedaref, Gezira, Kassala and White Nile. WFP currently has some 8,000 tons of food stocks in Port Sudan. In the coming days, the agency is expecting the arrival of two ships carrying food and supplies to treat moderate acute malnutrition.

Since restarting food distributions last week, WFP says more than 35,500 people have been reached across Gedaref and Kassala, with distributions also underway in White Nile.

Nigeria

We are appealing for US$396 million to stave off hunger and acute malnutrition among children in the north-east of the country, and help people get through the upcoming lean season.

This amount is a prioritized part of this year's annual appeal seeking $1.3 billion to reach 6 million people this year.

As we alerted last week, 4.3 million people in the Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states risk severe hunger from June to August, and child malnutrition is expected to rise with some 700,000 children at risk of severe wasting.

Without additional funding, humanitarian organizations will only be able to reach about 300,000 of the people at risk.

The data we receive are alarming: In 2023, the total admissions of complicated acute malnutrition cases across the northeastern states were nearly 4,300 between January and March. This is an increase of 23 per cent compared to the same period in 2022.

As we have seen in previous years, early funding can help pull food insecure households back from the brink.

Ukraine

We are concerned about the impact of recent attacks in various parts of the country on civilians, humanitarian facilities, houses and civilian infrastructure,

Yesterday, the Ukrainian Red Cross Society confirmed the loss of humanitarian aid stored in their warehouse in the southern city of Odesa which caught fire in an attack. The day before (7 May), their mobile hospital in the neighbouring southern Mykolaiv region sustained damage in another attack and some of their medical supplies and equipment were destroyed.

No Ukrainian Red Cross staff or volunteers were injured, but the latest wave of attacks raises alarm over the increased risks for civilians, including humanitarian personnel, especially on the front-lines and in areas in Ukraine’s east and north.

Civilians and civilian infrastructure are protected under international humanitarian law and the law must be upheld.