Sudan: Adre border crossing situation update Flash Update No. 02 (As of 31 August 2024)

HIGHLIGHTS

• Five hundred days of conflict have triggered the world’s largest hunger, protection, and displacement crisis in Sudan, devastating lives, and livelihoods.

• Between 20 and 30 August, 59 aid trucks carrying aid supplies crossed from Chad to Darfur via the Adre border crossing point.

• Ongoing rains and floods have damaged three major bridges in the region, limiting movements within Darfur.

• The United Nations (UN) Deputy Secretary General (DSG) undertook a one-day mission to Port Sudan on 29 August to discuss ways of strengthening humanitarian efforts. She proceeded to Chad’s Adre border point on 30 August.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

Five hundred days of conflict have triggered the world’s largest hunger, protection, and displacement crisis in Sudan, devastating lives and livelihoods. Sudan is facing the worst levels of acute food insecurity in its history with a staggering 26 million people in acute hunger. Famine conditions have been confirmed in the Zamzam camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in North Darfur. The situation is particularly critical for people trapped in conflictaffected areas, particularly Aj Jazirah, Darfur, Khartoum and Kordofan. Fighting in North Darfur, Sennar and other states across the country as well as diseases and flooding in many parts of Sudan are exacerbating suffering and worsening humanitarian needs, especially for women and girls. On 15 August, the Transitional Sovereignty Council announced the re-opening of the Adre border crossing. This border point is considered one of most effective and shortest routes to deliver humanitarian assistance to the eastern areas of Sudan. However, crossline from Port Sudan will also enable humanitarian supplies to other areas across the country. The humanitarian community in Sudan continues to call for urgent funding and unrestricted access to enable them to reach more people in acute.

Humanitarian response

Nearly 150 humanitarian partners are on the ground racing against time to stop a large-scale famine from taking hold, but the window for action is closing. More than 8 million of the 14.7 million people targeted for assistance this year have received some form of humanitarian aid between January and July but much more needs to be done.
Urgent funding is needed to procure more supplies to enable humanitarians to mount a large-scale multisector famine prevention and response aid operation across the country, mainly in areas of acute need. The 2024 Humanitarian response plan, which is seeking $2.7 billion, is 41 per cent funded, eight months into the year.

Ramping up advocacy

The UN Deputy Secretary General (DSG), Ms. Amina Mohammed, undertook a one-day mission to Port Sudan on 29 August before proceeding to Chad’s Adre border point the next day. In Port Sudan, she met with the Transitional Sovereignty Council, senior officials, and the UN country team, with a focus on strengthening humanitarian efforts in Sudan. She told journalists during a media briefing that the visit was to discuss the Adre border crossing and to draw the international community’s attention to the crisis in Sudan. She also emphasized the need to sustain the movement of supplies via the Adre border point while addressing the Humanitarian Aid Commission’s concerns about procedures. She was accompanied by the UN Secretary General’s Personal Envoy for Sudan, as well as the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, and senior officials from the World Food Programme, UNHCR, and UNICEF.

59 aid trucks cross the Adre border into Sudan

Despite some challenges over border crossing procedures after the announcement of the re-opening of the Adre border crossing on 15 August, aid trucks have continued to move supplies from Chad into Sudan’s Darfur. Between 20 and 30 August, 59 aid trucks carrying medical, food, nutrition, emergency shelter and essential household items crossed from Chad to Darfur via the Adre border crossing point. The supplies are estimated to reach nearly 195,000 people in acute need in different parts of the country. About 128 aid trucks carrying supplies for an estimated 355,000 people are being prepared to cross into Sudan in the coming days and weeks to ensure a steady flow of supplies. Despite the surge of supplies through Adre, humanitarian partners have warned that ongoing rains and floods have damaged three major bridges in the region, limiting movements within Darfur. While progress has been made on the Adre border crossing, funding resources are depleting, and humanitarian funding is urgently required to sustain the supplies chain.