Humanitarians preparing Sudan aid plan to assist 15 mln people: UN

UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations is preparing a plan to reach 15 million of the 25 million people in need of aid in war-torn Sudan, a UN spokesman said on Monday.

Both Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi will take part in an announcement of the goals in Geneva on Wednesday, said Stephane Dujarric, chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

"After nearly 10 months of conflict, more than half of Sudan's population, some 25 million people, needs humanitarian assistance and protection," Dujarric said. "The war has also forced more than 1.5 million people to flee across Sudan's borders to countries already hosting large refugee populations."

He said the UN-coordinated Humanitarian Response Plan for Sudan aims to reach nearly 15 million people this year, while the Regional Refugee Response Plan aims to support almost 2.7 million people in five neighboring countries.

The countries around Sudan holding refugees are the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan.

The International Organization for Migrants said the 9 million internally displaced people in Sudan make it the largest internal displacement crisis globally.

The latest Situation Report on the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs' Relief Web also said 3.5 million people were displaced from the capital of Khartoum since the war between two military factions began on April 15, 2023.

Additionally, the report said at least 10,500 cases of Cholera, including 292 associated deaths, were reported from 60 localities of 11 states in Sudan.