The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) grants an initial $103 million in additional humanitarian assistance to support Sudan and neighboring countries afflicted with the Sudanese crisis. The new funding includes $8 million for the Central African Republic, as well as $17 million for Chad, $6 million for Egypt, $22 million for South Sudan, and $50 million for Sudan, to help meet increased humanitarian needs resulting from the ongoing crisis.
USAID Administrator, Samantha Power, announced the funding during her trip to Chad, where she is meeting with Sudanese refugees who have been forced to flee their homes due to recent fighting and U.S. government humanitarian partners responding to the impacts of the ongoing crisis. The $17 million additional humanitarian assistance for Chad is supporting the U.S. government’s partners responding to the needs of vulnerable Sudanese refugees, as well as existing refugees near the Chad-Sudan border.
Since the outbreak of fighting in Sudan on April 15, the UN reports more than 76,000 people have crossed the border from Sudan into Chad seeking humanitarian assistance and protection. Before the outbreak of fighting, Chad already hosted more than 600,000 refugees – the largest refugee population in West and Central Africa.
This additional assistance in Chad is supporting USAID partners through the UN World Food Program (WFP) to provide in-kind food and cash assistance to more than 135,000 people, including newly arrived refugees from Sudan and refugees already in Chad. To meet urgent needs, WFP has already distributed food and nutrition assistance to more than 28,300 Sudanese refugees at the Chad-Sudan border. The additional assistance will also support the WFP-operated UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) to transport humanitarian personnel to areas of eastern Chad where assistance is needed most.
As the conflict in Sudan forces humanitarian partners across the region are exerting efforts to fulfill the needs with limited resources – especially in Chad where existing resources are already stretched thin – the United States urges other donors to help us address critical funding gaps.
