UNICEF: Sudan’s Future Depends on a Ceasefire
Sudan Events – Agencies
UNICEF Representative to Sudan Sheldon Yett today (8 Aug) said the country is experiencing a “child protection emergency,” and stressed that “the future of Sudan depends on a ceasefire.”
In an interview with UN News from Port Sudan, Yett said the famine declaration in Camp Zamzam in northern Darfur by the Famine Review Committee (FRC) “is no small thing.”
He said, “this is only the third time in some 20 years that this level of acute food insecurity has been declared. It means that children are desperate. It means that inhabitants are desperate. It means that we have an extremely alarming situation on the ground.”
The UNICEF official said Zamzam Camp is just “a canary in a coal mine,” and “the indication of terrible things that are happening there, terrible food insecurity.”
He said UNICEF is “bringing in supplies for severe acute malnutrition” and “ensuring that they’re getting to where they need to go,” which is “extremely, extremely difficult to do so.”
Yett said, “the war is ongoing There are access constraints. It is difficult to get a truck in. There are constantly new permits, bandits on the road, shooting, insecurity, extremely, extremely difficult. And unless we have peace, unless we have ceasefires, unless we’ve got agreements for safe access, I expect the situation to get worse.”
He said, “we’re working every possible angle. And we’re constantly in touch with all parties to ensure that food can go through. It isn’t easy. It takes constant work. Food is going, but not enough. It’s clear that far more work needs to be done. And frankly, unless we have security, it’s hard to see how we’re going to get the quantities that are required to this population.”
