Expulsions eliminate 60-80% of aid for the displaced in Darfur, millions threatened
On Wednesday, March 4th, authorities in northern Sudan ordered the global humanitarian organization ACF International to leave Darfur along with nine other international aid organizations. With registrations revoked, ACF’s offices in Khartoum were sealed off and the organization’s programs brought to a halt. ACF deplores this decision, expressing grave concern for the fate of the millions of displaced Sudanese whose lives depend on the lifelines provided by the international community in North Sudan.
ACF has worked in Sudan since 1985, administering programs in food assistance, the treatment and detection of malnutrition, and the extension of water and sanitation services. In 2008, ACF activities included distributions of 800,000 food rations, 10,000 tons of food, and water, sanitation and hygiene programs benefitting 100,000 people in the Darfur region, where the survival of nearly 2.5 million people depends on humanitarian assistance.
“If ACF is forced to discontinue these activities, 450,000 people will be immediately deprived of emergency assistance and left without food and water,” says Francois Danel, Executive Director of ACF’s French headquarters in Paris.
Action Against Hunger joins its colleague organizations in calling on the Sudanese authorities to change course, respect humanitarian principles, and avoid placing millions of people at risk. The humanitarian assistance provided by the ten NGOs threatened with expulsion represents 60–80% of the total amount of assistance that reaches Darfur. With the expulsion of these international organizations, the fate of millions are put in jeopardy.
The ten international organizations affected include: Action Against Hunger, CARE, Doctors Without Borders-Holland, Oxfam, Mercy Corps, Save the Children, the Norweigan Refugee Council, the International Rescue Committee, Solidarites, and CHF International.
