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Khartoum / Nairobi / Geneva, November 23, 2020 – The Sudanese Red Crescent Society has expanded its operation on the border with Ethiopia to support the growing number of Ethiopian refugees entering the country. Since fighting began in Ethiopia’s Tigray region on November 5, more than 30,000 people have crossed the border into Sudan and the number is increasing by the day.
At the transit centers located in Lukdi in Gedaref and Hamdaiet in Kassala state, there is an urgent and immediate need for food and water, shelter, first aid and medical care, as well as psychosocial support. The Red Crescent has distributed emergency relief items to 500 families and is mobilizing more support from its partners and the Sudanese government.
Dr Afaf Yahya, Secretary General of the Sudanese Red Crescent, said: “We have completed the construction of four communal shelters, seven communal kitchens and four emergency latrine blocks. We have also rehabilitated the road from Doka to Um Rakoba to speed up and facilitate the transport of the refugees to the settlement camps ”.
In Kassala state, the Red Crescent is operating two clinics for health and nutrition screenings and medical consultations. Red Crescent teams provide psychosocial support and transfer people with complicated medical conditions and in need of surgery to hospitals.
“We are concerned about the rate at which humanitarian needs are increasing. Many of the refugees are exhausted and hungry from the long distances they have walked to get here. They are concerned for the families they left behind and, from the expressions on the children’s faces, they are obviously deeply affected by what is happening, ”said Dr. Yahya.
Mohammed Omer Mukhier, Regional Director for Africa of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said:
“Needs at border transit points and settlement camps remain high. There is an urgent need for more emergency shelters for refugees, which are still arriving in large numbers. It is necessary to build distribution centers and it is also necessary to rehabilitate existing health centers. “
The Sudanese Red Crescent Society, which has an extensive network of 400,000 volunteers across the country, has also mobilized volunteers to help with temperature checks and registration at border transit points. The Red Crescent has responded to previous population movement crises, including the refugee emergency from South Sudan.
This influx of refugees comes at a time when Sudan is already in the midst of a major and complex humanitarian emergency. The unprecedented floods since July have left more than 875,000 people in need of humanitarian assistance. Food crops have already been depleted due to the invasion of desert locusts and livestock have disappeared. Rising inflation has led to skyrocketing prices, and stagnant and contaminated water continues to pose a serious health risk alongside the threat of COVID-19. The state of Kassala, an area badly affected by the floods, is now hosting the arriving refugees, increasing pressure on local resources and communities.
