UNICEF unable to fund 60% of needs in Sudan

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is unable to finance 60 per cent of people’s needs in Sudan, Turkey’s Anadolu Agency reported.

UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Omar Abdi told reporters in Khartoum yesterday that the organisation’s budget in Sudan amounts to nearly $130 million which covers only 40 per cent of the country’s actual needs.

Abdi explained that six per cent of the children in Sudan, especially in conflict areas, are dying from treatable or avoidable diseases.

Humanitarian organisations working in Sudan have been suffering from a lack of funds for several years now.

As many as 20 UN organisations and more than 100 other foreign organisations operate in Sudan with the majority of their activities concentrated in areas of conflict.

According to United Nations statistics, the armed conflict in the Darfur region has led to the death of 300,000 people and displaced some 2.5 million.