World News in Brief: ‘Massive’ needs in Sudan, DR Congo aid shortfall, support for Congolese refugees and Angola cholera relief
The UN estimates that in the past few weeks, over 330,000 people have fled into Tawila after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched violent attacks in the Zamzam and Abu Shouk displacement camps and in El Fasher, the regional capital.
Over 100,000 people also remain trapped in El Fasher.
‘Massive’ humanitarian needs
Since the beginning of the civil war in Sudan in April 2023, over 18,000 civilians have been killed and over 13 million have been forced from their homes.
According to UN estimates, over 30.4 million Sudanese are in desperate need of humanitarian aid.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has provided food assistance to over 300,000 people from the Zamzam displacement camp. Yet, UN Humanitarian Affairs Coordinator Tom Fletcher noted on Thursday that needs remain “massive” in the region.
“Our humanitarian colleagues also underscore the urgent need for stepped-up, flexible funding to sustain and expand life-saving support for people in need in North Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan,” said UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq, briefing reporters on Friday.
However, with ongoing drone strikes in Port Sudan, the main entry point for humanitarian supplies, and increasing violence in North Darfur, providing life-saving assistance has become increasingly difficult.
“We call once again on all parties to facilitate safe, unhindered and sustained access to the area, via all necessary routes,” Mr. Haq said.
DR Congo: Dire impact of funding cuts amidst cholera outbreak
Funding shortfalls have forced the humanitarian community to re-prioritise its response plan to alleviate the crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN aid coordination office OCHA said on Friday.
Nearly seven million people have already been forcibly displaced by violence since advances by M23 rebels earlier this year.
While the 2025 UN humanitarian plan aims to provide life-saving interventions to 11 million people across the DRC at a cost of $2.5 billion, only $233 million has been received so far.
Despite escalating needs in the wake of the crisis in the east of the country, “that’s only half the amount we had secured by this time last year,” Farhan Haq told journalists in New York.
Congolese health authorities are facing shortages of medical supplies as the DRC is now facing a cholera outbreak in six provinces.
OCHA is calling for greater protection of civilians in conflict-affected areas, and more support to prevent the collapse of essential services and address the root causes of the crisis.
UN fund allocates over $4 million to support Congolese refugees, Angola cholera outbreak
Two new allocations from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) will support Congolese refugees in Uganda and efforts to combat a deadly cholera outbreak in Angola.
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher released the funding on Friday.
More than 60,000 people have fled violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for neighbouring Uganda since January.
The first allocation, for $2.5 million, will allow the UN and partners to provide life-saving assistance to over 40,000 refugees, including clean drinking water, food, healthcare and nutrition support.
The $1.8 million CERF contribution in Angola will support the urgent response to the country’s worst cholera outbreak in two decades.
Since the beginning of the year, the outbreak has spread to 17 out of 21 provinces, with more than 18,000 cases and 586 deaths reported as of 7 May.
The funding will go towards scaling up the response and helping to prevent further spread of the disease.