UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Darfur, Sudan: Humanitarian needs increase as relief supplies dwindle
20 April 2004

(New York: 20 April 2004) - As the estimated number of internally
displaced persons in Sudan's Darfur region has risen to one million,
shortfalls of shelter, clean water, food and health care supplies are
compounding the humanitarian needs there. All funds contributed for relief
efforts in Darfur so far have already been exhausted. As the ability of
humanitarian agencies to assess the needs of people in Darfur increases,
the United Nations expects it will have to revise its humanitarian Appeal
for Darfur upwards, beyond the $115 it requested earlier this month.

The UN's Country Team in Sudan reports that its supplies of shelter
materials for Darfur's internally displaced persons are now completely
exhausted. Further complicating the situation of the displaced in Darfur
are water shortages.  Many new IDP settlements are in remote areas away
from water points and need urgent emergency water deliveries. In addition,
overcrowding within IDP camps that are not equipped with access to safe
water and sanitation is likely to lead to outbreaks of cholera,
meningitis, measles and acute diarrhoeal diseases. In addition to access
and resource constraints, maintaining aging water rigs and other equipment
requiring frequent maintenance are significant obstacles to the provision
of adequate relief in the water sector.

Food security is also a cause for concern. Existing stocks of food aid
will also soon be used and will need urgent replenishment. The new figure
of over one million IDPs puts an additional strain on existing stocks and
plans. Due to displacement and ongoing insecurity in rural areas, several
planting seasons have already been lost. Those IDPs and vulnerable groups
that have access to land need to prepare the land in the very short period
before rains begin in June. If humanitarian groups cannot urgently provide
farmers with seeds and tools for planting, food insecurity and thus
humanitarian needs will increase.

The lack of primary health care services, including insufficient medical
supplies of essential drugs and lack of human health resources to provide
essential care including psycho-social counseling are compounding the
health crisis in Darfur. Secondary and tertiary health care is practically
non-existent outside of the state capitals. Children under 5, separated
children from their families, pregnant and lactating women, and the
elderly are not only the most vulnerable among the IDPs but also among the
resident population. As a result, the infant mortality rate (IMR) at an
estimated 120 per 1,000 births, is very high. Maternal mortality rates are
extremely high: while the national average is 509 per 100,000, estimates
in Darfur are as high as 600 per 100,000 women.

For further information, please call:
Stephanie Bunker, OCHA NY, 917 367 5126, mobile 917 892 1679; 
Elizabeth Byrs, OCHA Geneva, 41 22 917 2653, mobile 41(0) 79 473 4570.


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