USAID Director: Closing Border Crossings to Humanitarian Aid Deepens Sudan Crisis
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced an additional $315 million in humanitarian aid for Sudan as the country's crisis worsens. USAID Director, Ambassador Samantha Power, emphasized that the situation in Sudan is becoming increasingly dire following the closure of the Adré crossing, which threatens the nation with the world's worst famine due to blocked humanitarian aid.
Power's remarks were made during a media briefing with the
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield. Power noted
that Sudan is facing a humanitarian crisis that could surpass the famine which
claimed a quarter of a million Somali lives in 2011. She warned that the most
concerning scenario is that Sudan could experience the worst famine since the
one that struck Ethiopia in the early 1980s.
Power highlighted that around 12 million people within Sudan
and in neighboring countries are seeking safety, with displaced individuals
facing severe shortages in medical care due to the cessation of operations at
80% of hospitals in conflict areas. She added that humanitarian workers are
striving to provide medications and transport patients to the few remaining
field health centers, or to administer urgent medical treatments.
Power also announced that USAID and the U.S. Department of
State will provide more than $315 million in additional humanitarian aid to
support the people of Sudan, and she urged all international partners to stand
with Sudan.
Meanwhile, U.N. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield stated
that ethnically motivated massacres in West Darfur at the end of last year,
coupled with deteriorating food security and the Sudanese Armed Forces' closure
of the critical Adré border crossing, have forced thousands to flee their
homes. She pointed out that nearly 25 million Sudanese are in desperate need of
humanitarian assistance and protection, with up to 15% of the population in the
hardest-hit areas of Darfur and Kordofan at risk of dying by the end of
September 2024.
Thomas-Greenfield underscored that this is the largest
humanitarian crisis on the planet and warned that it could worsen further. As
the rainy season approaches, the Al-Tina border crossing, already insufficient
and hampered by obstacles, will soon become impassable. She noted that El
Fasher, one of the last safe havens for civilians, was subjected to aerial and
indiscriminate shelling last month.
She referenced last week's United Nations Security Council
meeting, which resulted in a resolution demanding an end to the siege and
attacks in El Fasher. The resolution calls for an immediate local ceasefire in
and around the city, protection of civilians, and urges the Secretary-General
to recommend measures to safeguard the population. It also demands that
humanitarian aid be allowed to flow freely into Darfur and across Sudan in
accordance with international law, including the reopening of the Adré border
crossing to ensure the delivery of essential food and medical supplies to
Sudan.
In a related context, international activist Hassan Ghazaly,
founder of the Global Solidarity Network, emphasized the necessity for global
media to highlight the Sudanese crisis, noting that it is currently the largest
humanitarian crisis in Africa. He pointed out the importance of international
relief and development agencies playing their role in supporting Sudan's
neighboring countries, given the economic pressure caused by the influx of
Sudanese refugees, particularly on the Arab Republic of Egypt, which has been
unwavering in extending a helping hand to the Sudanese people.
By: Kernblitz News