The situation is dire. Since April 15, in Sudan, the fighting between the armed forces and the paramilitary rapid support forces has aggravated an already unsustainable humanitarian crisis for the population, marked among other things by famine and natural disasters. Within weeks, around 345,000 people fled the country, joining 800,000 of their compatriots who had already felt their chances of survival were better, perhaps, in neighboring countries. According to the United Nations, the number of refugees due to this new crisis could reach 860,000 people.
In Ethiopia, South Sudan, Chad and East Africa in general, the pressure is immense and the humanitarian aid insufficient. In addition to having to deal, in some cases, with their own humanitarian needs, host communities have reached the limits of their capacity. Refugees end up in transit centers with limited access to food, water, shelter, health care and basic necessities. As congestion increases, tensions and violence increase, as do the risks of famine and epidemics.
Humanity & Inclusion is on the borders of Sudan, reaching out to those people too often forgotten by governments and international organizations in the face of the scale of humanitarian needs and the insufficiency of aid. We estimate that 25% of Sudanese refugees have a disability. While for some the disability is a pre-existing condition, for others it is the result of injury in battle or trauma experienced during their dangerous journey.
The reality of emergency situations tells us that it is a priority to ensure that the humanitarian response takes into account people with disabilities and offers assistance adapted to their needs. People with disabilities can easily find themselves excluded from access to basic necessities and services.
The crisis in Sudan also highlights the fact that the refugees are, most of the time, mainly women, children and the elderly. Unfortunately, it is also these groups of people who are most likely to experience disability, leaving them particularly vulnerable to violence and abuse.
In the surrounding areas of Sudan where we are, there is a lot to do. In order to respond to urgent needs, Humanity & Inclusion offers a humanitarian response. It provides medical aid (care and rehabilitation) as well as psychological support, ensures the transport, storage and distribution of humanitarian aid, but also intervenes in the management of refugee and displaced persons camps and participates in repatriation operations. deliberate.
We also offer to advise and train humanitarian organizations to better include people with disabilities in their emergency response. Emergency interventions also involve the construction of shelters, flexible temporary housing and the reconstruction of infrastructure.
Despite this, the needs are accumulating. It is essential that humanitarian aid also increases, at the risk that people with disabilities find themselves having to deal with the effects of the crisis on their own, in addition to the difficulties of their own situation. Just as the crisis in Sudan may seem like just another armed conflict among many that demand our attention, the difficult reality of people with disabilities can also be too easily overlooked.
Humanity & Inclusion is a member of the Humanitarian Coalition, which brings together leading Canadian humanitarian organizations and offers Canadians an easy way to help. The Canadian government recently announced that it will match donations made to the Coalition up to a maximum of $5 million, in response to the crisis in Sudan and neighboring countries. This is necessary to ensure that the humanitarian response meets the needs of all.