Highlights
• The 2016 Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) was launched on 12 July, requesting US$952 million to support 4.6 million people targeted for humanitarian assistance. The plan is 22 per cent funded, with a further US$741 million still needed to support the 2016 humanitarian response.
• Sudan became the first country in the African meningitis belt to introduce meningitis A as part of routine immunisations. This will prevent vulnerable children from contracting the disease and reduce outbreaks.
• 80,175 people (40,889 children) in Sudan are estimated by the government to have been affected by heavy rains and flooding, with 26,418 houses reported to have been damaged. UNICEF and partners are responding with prepositioned supplies, but accessibility of affected areas is a challenge.
• 24,542 children (12,500 girls; 12,042 boys) were treated for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) during the reporting month, bringing the total treated in 2016 to 96,872. This is 24,000 more children than treated during the same period last year, underscoring the increased burden of SAM this year following flooding and a poor harvest.
• Advocacy efforts in North Darfur have resulted in authorities granting permission to Education Sector partners to construct temporary learning spaces in Sortony to meet the education needs of 3,347 displaced children (1,740 girls; 1,605 boys) who fled the Jebel Marra conflict earlier this year.
• The UNICEF Sudan Humanitarian Action for Children appeal for 2016 is only 33 per cent funded. Child Protection and WASH are the most critically underfunded sectors, with more than a 75 per cent funding gap.
SITUATION IN NUMBERS
2,600,000 children 4,400,000 people # of people affected (Source: Humanitarian Action for Children 2016)
1,200,000 children 1,980,000 people # of people displaced in Darfur (Source: Sudan Humanitarian Needs Overview 2016)
171,345 children 244,779 people # of South Sudanese Refugees since outbreak of conflict on 15 December 2013 (Source: UNHCR Information Sharing Portal, 31 July 2016. 66 per cent of refugees from South Sudan are children, this increased to 70 per cent for those living in the camps)
Situation Overview and Humanitarian Needs
The 2016 Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP),1 launched this month, estimates that of the 5.8 million people in need of humanitarian assistance across Sudan, 2.23 million are internally displaced people (IDPs); 700,000 are refugees; 2.21 million are vulnerable people who are affected by the impacts of El Niño; and 1.46 million children are acutely malnourished. Sudan continues to be the largest recipient of South Sudanese refugees in the region with 244,779 South Sudanese refugees (171,345 children) registered as of July. In the first six months of 2016 alone, 92,670 South Sudanese refugees have crossed the border into Sudan, making up 38 per cent of the total arrivals since the first outbreak of conflict in 2013. This large number is in part due to recent escalation of fighting in South Sudan as well as decreasing availability and increased price of food. This year, close to 81,000 people have been verified as newly displaced across Darfur. An additional 170,000 people have also been reported to be displaced in Darfur, with 50,000 said to have returned to their places of origin, however, these figures have not been verified.
Heavy rain and flooding have affected parts of Blue Nile, Kassala, Khartoum, North, South and West Darfur, Northern, and South and West Kordofan states. As of 31 July, the government has reported that 80,175 people in Sudan have been affected by the flooding with an estimated 26,418 houses damaged (10,463 of which were completely destroyed). According to the Ministry of Education (MoE), in Sennar and South Darfur states, there are 36 schools partially or fully damaged as a result of floods, affecting the education of over 6,500 children. There are reports of affected schools in other states, which are being verified by the MoE and partners. In En Nuhut, West Kordofan, support for latrine construction and the provision of water are urgently needed following heavy rains which reportedly destroyed 541 houses and damaged 698 others.