Global Courant 2023-04-30 19:07:56
UNHCR says it is working closely with the government days after reports surfaced that there was a total lack of international humanitarian aid at the border with Egypt.
The United Nations says it is working closely with Egyptian authorities to help people arriving at the border escape the ongoing conflict in Sudan, following complaints about a lack of international response to the crisis.
A staff member of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) told Al Jazeera that the agency is working with the government, particularly the Ministry of Health, to provide supplies to people at the border.
“UNHCR is coordinating an interdepartmental response in conjunction with the government of Egypt. This involves the UNRCO (UN Resident Coordinator’s Office) and UN sister agencies,” the organization said in a statement.
Other UN agencies on hand to help the arriving refugees include the United Nations Children’s Fund, the International Organization for Migration and the World Food Programme.
According to reports, the United States Agency for International Development, also known as USAID, has also been granted access to help the arriving refugees.
A family sits on a bus as passengers flying from Sudan arrive at Egypt’s Argeen Land Port (File: Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters)
Since fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began on April 15, thousands of Sudanese and others have fled and sought refuge in nearby countries, including Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan.
According to the UN agencies, water, food, medicines, wheelchairs and ambulances are being sent to the border, among other things. The agencies work through the Egyptian Red Crescent to distribute supplies.
A UN spokesman in the southern Egyptian city of Aswan said all agencies are working to raise money for people arriving, in addition to the emergency funds announced by the UN.
On Thursday, the organization’s emergency response coordinator, Martin Griffiths announced a $3 million aid package from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund for those fleeing Sudan.
Reports had surfaced earlier this week that there were no humanitarian organizations on the border between Egypt and Sudan. Many had hoped that such organizations would be available to provide much-needed assistance.
People arriving at the border had complained of medical conditions after a grueling journey that lasted hours.
Those who fled reported exhaustion and dehydration amid rising temperatures, while others said they needed immediate life-saving drugs for long-term illnesses.
First shipment of life-saving humanitarian aid arrives in Port #Sudanfor Sudanese hospitals and Sudanese Red Crescent volunteers who provide medical care to the wounded during the fighting
— ICRC (@ICRC) April 30, 2023
Separately on Sunday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced that the first shipment of relief supplies from Amman, Jordan, had arrived in Port Sudan, the Sudanese port city on the Red Sea.
“After April 14, no one has managed to get medical help in the country that is so desperately needed,” Patrick Youssef, the ICRC’s regional director for Africa, said in a statement on its website.
“This medical aid will hopefully travel from Port Sudan quite quickly and be delivered to the hospitals that need it most and indeed that requires a ceasefire that needs to be respected by both sides so that we are able… to deliver these items to deliver as soon as possible. can.”
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