Irish aid trucks reach areas of Sudan devastated by conflict

Concern Worldwide said it delivered and distributed two trucks of essential items to over 300 families in West Darfur, which has been devastated by a conflict that began almost eight months ago.

The Irish humanitarian organisation said the supplies, which were funded by the government’s overseas development body Irish Aid, include soap, cooking items, blankets and water containers.

They said the north-east African nation needs more support for the millions of people in desperate need of aid, including almost six million people forced to flee their homes due to the conflict.

“Families have lost everything, many having been forced to move more than once in the past eight months” said Concern’s interim country director for Sudan, Dominic MacSorley, who led the team distributing the recent aid delivery in Sudan.

“Sustained conflict has turned what were once thriving communities into a wasteland and survival for many is a daily challenge.

“One young woman, Miriam, a mother-of-three, told me that she and her husband were daily labourers prior to the conflict, but now work was scarce and her family were surviving on a diet of millet cereal grains.

“The jerry cans she received in the distribution would make a difference as she could collect her own water and not rely on others.

“The aid we provided has made a huge difference, but people here need far more support. The world must pay attention.”

Concern is also planning to respond to an outbreak of cholera, the water-borne disease that can be fatal if not treated promptly, in Port Sudan in the east of the country.

Concern, which has about 100 staff in Sudan where it has worked for 38 years, resumed its aid work in the country in recent weeks after temporarily suspending operations due to an increase in armed attacks.

Over 10,000 people are estimated to have been killed since this latest conflict in Sudan began on April 15th.

Around half the country’s population (24.7 million people) are estimated to be in need of humanitarian aid in the country. 

This includes over three million children estimated to be acutely malnourished, 621,000 of whom face severe acute malnutrition. These figures are expected to continue rising.

The UN has described the crisis in Sudan as “one of the worst humanitarian nightmares in recent history” with many horrifying reports of violence and people suffering from hunger and the impacts of conflict.

There has also been a near total collapse of health, food, and economic infrastructure.

For more information or to support Concern’s work visit concern.net. 

ENDS 

For media queries or interview requests please contact Kevin Jenkinson at kevin.jenkinson@concern.net.