Global humanitarian appeal includes more than US$900 million for Sudan [EN/AR]

Khartoum, 17 December 2012. On 14 December the United Nations Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos, launched the 2013 global humanitarian appeal, calling for US$ 8.5 Billion to help an estimated 51 million people who will need urgent humanitarian relief in 2013. Ms. Amos made the appeal on behalf of the UN and international humanitarian organizations working in 16 crisis-affected countries around the world.

For Sudan, humanitarian agencies are requesting close to US$ 1 billion (US$983 million, to be precise) to fund 364 projects in 2013. The humanitarian community will use these funds to continue supporting the Government of Sudan in delivering urgently needed assistance to people in need.

Sudan’s humanitarian needs remain high, with a total of 4.3 million people (12% of the Sudanese population) estimated to require some form of assistance in 2013, including many people who remain displaced or severely affected by ongoing conflict in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states. Meanwhile, the ongoing lifesaving operations in Darfur, which target 3.4 million people, account for close to two thirds of the funding requirement.

One of the objectives for international humanitarian organizations in 2013 will be to help strengthen the capacity of national institutions and national organizations to better respond to future humanitarian crises in Sudan.

The 2013 Sudan Humanitarian Work Plan will continue to support the transition from short term interventions to activities that reduce long term dependency on aid. “As the humanitarian response in Darfur enters its tenth year, and after nearly 40 years of refugee arrivals in eastern Sudan,more should be done to help deliver durable solutions and strengthen national capacity to plan for and respond to humanitarian needs,” said the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, Mr. Ali Al-Za’tari. “We must do more to promote self-reliance and reduce aid dependency”,he said.

In 2012, only 54 per cent of the funding requirements were met. This is a sharp drop in funding compared to previous years. Access restrictions, as well as decreasing international aid budgets and competition for funds from other high profile humanitarian operations meant that many of the Sudan projects in 2012 could not be implemented.

Funding requirements for 2013 are US$82 million lower than in 2012, reflecting improved planning and more efficient and rigorous selection of project activities, yet the number of people receiving assistance has increased from 4.2 million to 4.3 million in 2013. This is mainly brought on by a worsening humanitarian crisis in South Kordofan and Blue Nile which has severely affected some 700,000 people, according to UN estimates.

This launch comes at a time of ongoing global economic crisis, and fewer resources, to address a rising number of conflict and natural disasters situations.

“I urge partners to make additional efforts and work together more efficiently to deliver assistance in a more targeted manner. We are aiming to assist more people in 2013 and must do this with less funding than 2012. This is a challenge that we can meet,” said Mr. Al- Za’tari.