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Concern Worldwide is helping people who have seen their homes and livelihoods destroyed by flash floods and heavy rains in Sudan’s West Kordofan state.
The development charity is responding by providing emergency food baskets (wheat, oil and sugar) and kits of non-food items, including items like blankets, kitchen utensils, soap and mosquito nets, to 1,450 households.
Concern Sudan Country Director AKM Musha said the lives of more than half a million people in 18 states of Sudan are affected, and West Kordofan is one of the most affected.
“Farmers lost their cultivated land and hope for a good harvest. Mothers and children were displaced and found temporary shelter in overcrowded government facilities, schools and other public buildings with very limited personal hygiene and sanitation facilities. The situation is devastating and with the already fragile economic and political situation, caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the next few months will be catastrophic without more humanitarian funding, ”explained Musha.
Sudan and neighboring Ethiopia have experienced torrential monsoon rains in recent weeks, which have raised the Nile River by 17.5 meters, causing the worst flooding ever recorded in Sudan. Entire areas of the country have been flooded, with at least 100 people dead and hundreds of thousands of homes destroyed. The Sudanese government has declared a three-month state of emergency, describing the floods as a unique event in a century.
On the border with South Sudan, Western Kordofan has become home to more than 60,000 South Sudanese refugees who began arriving in 2015 after fleeing civil war in their home country. Before the floods, the region had already been battling economic hardships, the Covid-19 pandemic, a polio outbreak, and insecurity due to tribal conflicts. The current floods are creating another layer of challenges for the already vulnerable population.
Fiona Gannon, Concern Regional Director said: “In the 35 years that Concern has been operating in Sudan, we have never experienced floods that have caused so much devastation; razing roads, bridges and other infrastructure, and making access to remote affected areas very difficult. The most vulnerable affected people have no means of transportation to get out of their flooded communities, so their only hope is the vital support of Concern and other humanitarian actors.
Concern’s response in West Kordofan is funded by the generous Irish public and government donors. To support this answer, visit www.concern.net
ENDS
For media inquiries, contact Kevin Jenkinson, Director of Media Relations, Concern Worldwide, at [email protected] or +353 86 3582886
