Vital aid has been despatched from the UAE to an area of Sudan devastated by recent severe flooding, famine and civil war.
Under the guidance of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Dubai Humanitarian (DXB-H) sent the urgent relief supplies to Chad’s capital, Ndjamena.
The city – which acts as a gateway to the worst hit area of Sudan – has also seen a huge influx of refugeees from its strife-torn neighbour, which has vastly increased after the collapse of the Arba’at Dam, which caused an estimated 140 deaths, with many more people reported as missing.
The resulting floods which swept through 70 villages added to Sudan’s humanitarian crisis after more than 16 months of civil war that has claimed more than 40,000 lives, displaced 12 million people and pushed some areas to the brink of famine.
The dam is located about 40km north-west of Port Sudan, the country’s main conduit for international trade that also now serves as a hub for humanitarian operations after the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began fighting in April last year.
UAE Aid
In response to the escalating humanitarian crisis, a Boeing 747 cargo flight departed from Al Maktoum International Airport carrying 90 metric tons of essential medical supplies, shelter materials, and relief items provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
These resources are set to support more than 70,000 at-risk Sudanese people.
Giuseppe Saba, CEO of Dubai Humanitarian said: ‘In these critical moments, the speed of our response can mean the difference between life and death.
‘Our ability to mobilise and deliver aid quickly is a testament to the strong partnerships and unwavering support from the leadership of Dubai. This airlift to Chad highlights our ongoing efforts to support vulnerable communities worldwide.’
Climate Emergency
Aid agencies warn that few places in the world illustrate more starkly the damage that climate change inflicts on poorer countries.
Climate scientists say drought may be what first comes to mind as temperatures rise, but weather patterns are also changing in other ways.
Flooding has always happened in this northern part of South Sudan, but the rainy seasons in the region have been unusually heavy and unusually long in recent years. The land has been unable to absorb the water.
The disruption has been all the more severe because it has hit people who had already fled the upheavals of war.
UK Development Minister, Anneliese Dodd, visited the area’s Bentiu Refugee Camp last week saying: ‘South Sudan demonstrates how the climate crisis, combined with conflict, can impact some of the most vulnerable people in the world.
‘The very large number of people who are living there are in a horrific situation to be honest. You have tens of thousands of people who are living in circumstances where water is being continuously being pumped away from them. One of the camps has been built below the water line, that’s a legacy of the circumstances in which it was first created.
‘The area in which the camp is based used to flood occasionally, or seasonally and then the floodwaters would recede. Well they are not receding it’s obvious now that that horrendous situation of a very large amount of lying water, that is there to stay.’
The WHO said it was delivering life saving plasma infusion to those injured by the many crisis affecting Sudan, via the UAE airlift.
Robert Blanchard, Emergency Operations Manager, WHO Global Logistics Hub, said: ‘This charter flight provided by the Dubai Humanitarian is vital to overcoming logistics challenges and represents a tremendous support to WHO’s ongoing health emergency response.
‘With the generous support of Dubai Humanitarian, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency is delivering 53 metric tonnes of critical supplies to meet the dire humanitarian needs in Sudan.’
The cost of the relief airlift, amounting to AED 1.48 million ($405,000), was funded by Dubai Humanitarian’s Global Humanitarian Impact Fund. This fund, established by DXB-H, is dedicated to supporting critical humanitarian missions from Dubai to the world.
