UN / SUDAN HUMANITARIAN PRESSER
STORY: UN / SUDAN HUMANITARIAN PRESSER
TRT: 4:17
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 12 APRIL 2024, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations Headquarters
12 APRIL 2024, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, press briefing room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Justin Brady, head of office, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan:
“Today, Sudan is one of the world’s worst humanitarian tragedies. Half of Sudan's population - 25 million people - need humanitarian assistance. More people in the past year in Sudan than anywhere else in the world, with 8.6 million people forced to flee their homes, including four million children. Almost two million have fled to neighboring countries.”
4. Wide shot, press briefing room
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Justin Brady, head of office, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan:
“As intense fighting continuously humanitarian tragedy grows worse by the day. Already, nearly five million people are one step away from famine. And recent analysis indicates that famine is expected in parts of Khartoum and greater Darfur, particularly in hard-to-reach areas. Across Sudan, 18 million people, more than one third of the population are facing acute food insecurity. That is 10 million more people than the same time last year. And the highest ever recorded during Sudan's harvest season.”
6. Wide shot, press briefing room
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Justin Brady, head of office, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan:
“The war has been particularly hard on children, an estimated 730,000 children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition. Without urgent assistance, more than 200,000 children could die from life threatening hunger in the coming weeks and months.”
8. Wide shot, press briefing room
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Justin Brady, head of office, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan:
“As we mark one year of vicious conflict, a grim milestone by any standard. I urge the Sudan armed forces and rapid support forces to protect civilians and guarantee unimpeded humanitarian access. I'm disturbed by continuing reports of attacks on civilians, including what appears to be on an ethnic basis in Darfur and vital civilian infrastructure such as hospitals.”
10. Wide shot, press briefing room
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Justin Brady, head of office, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan:
“However, we are constrained by complex conflict dynamics, including ever shifting front lines as fighting spreads to new areas, aid convoys face threats, roadblocks, restrictions, and bureaucratic impediments, making it extremely challenging to scale up. This in turn has a chilling effect on our ability to mobilize resources.”
12. Wide shot, press briefing room
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Dunford, World Food Program (WFP) Regional Director for East Africa:
“Given that livelihoods have been impacted, given that so many of the population are displaced over eight million inside the country, given that there is no Sudanese in the entire country that is untouched by the conflict, people simply will not have the means to be able to put the food on the table. And this is why we are desperately concerned that the five million population in emergency levels of food insecurity are likely to move into catastrophic levels in the coming months. This is really a very real risk of becoming the largest hunger crisis anywhere in the world, if not already.”
14. Wide shot, press briefing room
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Dunford, World Food Program (WFP) Regional Director for East Africa:
“As I mentioned as a regional implication. Refugees escaping to the likes of Chad and South Sudan, two countries that were already extraordinarily fragile, over 75 percent of the population in South Sudan require humanitarian assistance, and yet they have received already over 600,000 refugees, where we as WFP and others are simply unable to meet all of their requirements.”
16. Wide shot, press briefing room
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Dunford, World Food Program (WFP) Regional Director for East Africa:
“We've also seen how the conflict has impacted the economy of these countries, a lot of cross border trade that previously existed, has been stopped. Beyond that, the pipeline from South Sudan up to port Sudan is now not functioning.”
18. Wide shot, press briefing room
Justin Brady, head of the humanitarian office (OCHA) in Sudan told reporters, “Today, Sudan is one of the world’s worst humanitarian tragedies. Half of Sudan's population - 25 million people - need humanitarian assistance.”
The OCHA senior official in Sudan briefed reporters today (12 Apr) from Port of Sudan on the situation in the country.
He said, “As intense fighting continuously humanitarian tragedy grows worse by the day. Already, nearly five million people are one step away from famine. And recent analysis indicates that famine is expected in parts of Khartoum and greater Darfur, particularly in hard-to-reach areas.”
Brady continued, “Across Sudan, 18 million people, more than one third of the population are facing acute food insecurity. That is 10 million more people than the same time last year. And the highest ever recorded during Sudan's harvest season.”
The head of office also said, “The war has been particularly hard on children, an estimated 730,000 children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition.”
“Without urgent assistance, more than 200,000 children could die from life threatening hunger in the coming weeks and months,” Brady added.
“As we mark one year of vicious conflict, a grim milestone by any standard,” the UN humanitarian official urged “the Sudan armed forces and rapid support forces to protect civilians and guarantee unimpeded humanitarian access.”
He also said, he is “disturbed by continuing reports of attacks on civilians, including what appears to be on an ethnic basis in Darfur and vital civilian infrastructure such as hospitals.”
On challenges, Brady said, “we are constrained by complex conflict dynamics, including ever shifting front lines as fighting spreads to new areas, aid convoys face threats, roadblocks, restrictions, and bureaucratic impediments, making it extremely challenging to scale up. This in turn has a chilling effect on our ability to mobilize resources.”
Michael Dunford, World Food Program (WFP) Regional Director for East Africa, also spoke to reporters via video from Nairobi.
He said, “Given that livelihoods have been impacted, given that so many of the population are displaced over eight million inside the country, given that there is no Sudanese in the entire country that is untouched by the conflict, people simply will not have the means to be able to put the food on the table.”
Dunford continued, “this is why we are desperately concerned that the five million population in emergency levels of food insecurity are likely to move into catastrophic levels in the coming months. This is really a very real risk of becoming the largest hunger crisis anywhere in the world, if not already.”
On reginal implication, the WFP senior official said, “Refugees escaping to the likes of Chad and South Sudan, two countries that were already extraordinarily fragile, over 75 percent of the population in South Sudan require humanitarian assistance, and yet they have received already over 600,000 refugees, where we as WFP and others are simply unable to meet all of their requirements.”
Dunford concluded, “We've also seen how the conflict has impacted the economy of these countries, a lot of cross border trade that previously existed, has been stopped. Beyond that, the pipeline from South Sudan up to port Sudan is now not functioning.”