Sudan bars international staff from Blue Nile aid assessment

19/10/2014 13:22

The Sudanese Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) in Blue Nile state, in its monthly meeting with UN, national and international NGOs on 12 October, confirmed that an inter-agency multi-sector needs assessment will take place in Blue Nile state in November. HAC noted, however, that international staff members of UN agencies and international NGOs are not permitted to take part in the assessment. HAC requested the international organisations to finance the exercise as the local authorities in the Blue Nile lack funding to support the assessment, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan reported in its latest weekly bulletin. If these assessments go ahead with the participation of UN agencies and international NGOs, they will be the first inter-agency needs assessments in Blue Nile since September 2011, when fighting erupted in the state between government forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N). The assessment will concentrate on areas of greatest vulnerability as well as areas affected by conflict, floods, and areas where outbreaks of diseases have been reported. 240,000 people in need According to the Humanitarian Needs Overview of the Sudan Strategic Response Plan, about 240,000 people need humanitarian aid in Blue Nile, OCHA states in its bulletin. This includes an estimated 110,000 displaced people in the government-controlled areas of Blue Nile state. Estimates from the humanitarian wing of SPLM-N and community-based organisations on the ground indicate that there are about 90,000 displaced living in SPLM-N controlled areas. UN agencies do not have access to SPLM-N areas and cannot verify the scope of civilian displacement and humanitarian needs in SPLM-N areas. In addition, there are approximately 3,660 refugees from South Sudan in Blue Nile. According to a survey conducted by the Sudanese Ministry of Health, with support from Unicef, four out of the six Blue Nile localities have Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rates above the emergency threshold level of 15 percent. This means that an estimated 36,000 infants will be suffering from acute malnutrition during the course of the year, the Nutrition Sector in Sudan reported. File photo: A mother and her children in Blue Nile state on their way to collect water (Radio Tamazuj)

The Sudanese Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) in Blue Nile state, in its monthly meeting with UN, national and international NGOs on 12 October, confirmed that an inter-agency multi-sector needs assessment will take place in Blue Nile state in November. HAC noted, however, that international staff members of UN agencies and international NGOs are not permitted to take part in the assessment.

HAC requested the international organisations to finance the exercise as the local authorities in the Blue Nile lack funding to support the assessment, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan reported in its latest weekly bulletin.

If these assessments go ahead with the participation of UN agencies and international NGOs, they will be the first inter-agency needs assessments in Blue Nile since September 2011, when fighting erupted in the state between government forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N). The assessment will concentrate on areas of greatest vulnerability as well as areas affected by conflict, floods, and areas where outbreaks of diseases have been reported.

240,000 people in need

According to the Humanitarian Needs Overview of the Sudan Strategic Response Plan, about 240,000 people need humanitarian aid in Blue Nile, OCHA states in its bulletin.

This includes an estimated 110,000 displaced people in the government-controlled areas of Blue Nile state. Estimates from the humanitarian wing of SPLM-N and community-based organisations on the ground indicate that there are about 90,000 displaced living in SPLM-N controlled areas. UN agencies do not have access to SPLM-N areas and cannot verify the scope of civilian displacement and humanitarian needs in SPLM-N areas. In addition, there are approximately 3,660 refugees from South Sudan in Blue Nile.

According to a survey conducted by the Sudanese Ministry of Health, with support from Unicef, four out of the six Blue Nile localities have Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rates above the emergency threshold level of 15 percent. This means that an estimated 36,000 infants will be suffering from acute malnutrition during the course of the year, the Nutrition Sector in Sudan reported.

File photo: A mother and her children in Blue Nile state on their way to collect water (Radio Tamazuj)