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All over Darfur, poor security conditions are seriously limiting the delivery of sorely needed humanitarian aid. A serious security incident in Gereida in December forced the majority of non-governmental organizations working there to leave the area.
"Over 120 thousand people are stranded in the camp, in urgent need of food, water, health care, sanitation and waste disposal," says Jacques de Maio, head of ICRC operations in the Horn of Africa. "The ICRC is the only organization left with the means to come to their aid. It's a humanitarian imperative."
The security and humanitarian situation in Darfur continues to be desperate with some two million people displaced or depending entirely on assistance, and another two million residents being affected as well, which makes up two-thirds of the overall population living in Darfur.
The rise in violence has caused a sharp increase in the restrictions of movements of people, livestock, and goods. Entire communities have little access to essential health services, markets are more and more depleted driving up the price of local produce. Food insecurity is forcing the population to find new coping mechanisms.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
ICRC has been present in Sudan since 1978. In 1984, it launched operations relating to the internal conflict between government forces and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army in the south. Following a number of cease-fire agreements, a peace accord between the warring parties was finally signed in January 2005 bringing hope for a return to stability in this part of the country.
However, the conflict that began in early 2003 pitting government forces and Janjaweed militia against the rebel forces of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and the Justice and Equality Movement in the western region of Darfur has necessitated the ICRC's biggest deployment worldwide.
Presence: (2007) Around 1,960 staff, including more than 160 expatriates.
Canadians wishing to help the victims of the crisis in Sudan can make a cash donation online.
Canadian Red Cross: Past Appeals > Sudan Humanitarian Crisis»