Throwing a lifeline to Darfur

Caritas/ACT Alliance are appealing for US$3 million (€2.8 million) to strengthen their humanitarian response in Sudan’s Darfur region in 2016. According to United Nations figures there are an estimated 2.5 million internally displaced people in Darfur and in 2015 a total of 4.4 million people were estimated to be in need of some form of humanitarian assistance.

The joint programme aims to reach out to over 260,000 vulnerable people with a focus on providing life-saving support but also on mobilising communities to work together to help those who struggle the most, such as pregnant women, new mothers and young children.

DarfurCaritas

Different groups of people interact and become friends during skills training programmes like this one funded by Caritas and ACT Alliance. Photo by Annie Bungerouth/ACT-Caritas

John Birchenough, CAFOD (Caritas England and Wales) Emergency Programme Manager for Sudan, says,  “Darfur is one of the world’s hidden emergencies, and the work of Caritas /ACT Alliance ensuring that vulnerable families, receive clean water, sanitation, and support to earn a living, is a much needed lifeline to people affected by the long-running crisis. This can be a challenging environment to work in  but there has also been progress through initiatives  such as the increased use of energy efficient solar panels water pumps. Our hope must be that the efforts of so many people of good will to establish a just peace for Darfur will succeed.”

Over the course of 2015 over 240,000 people were reported to have been displaced in the region and clashes erupted again in January 2016. The unrest also creates security challenges in helping many of those who are in difficulty. These add to wider logistical challenges which further complicate the situation.

The needs of those displaced or who have been affected by the conflict are great and wide-ranging. They range from basic needs such as water and shelter and access to health facilities but also to longer-term needs such as education and retraining and rebuilding their livelihoods.

Other initiatives to be supported will include developing community action plans to face potential humanitarian emergencies and the provision of training and tools that will enable people to farm the land and boost food production.

The  2016 Darfur  Programme Appeal  is  the  13th annual  appeal  since  the  start of  the Caritas/ACT Alliance collaboration, which began in 2004.

For more information, please contact Michelle Hough on +39 06 69879712 / +39 334 2344136 or hough@caritas.va.

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