NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Friday, January 13, 2017

Eleven health facilities in Sudan, funded by the UN and serving people displaced by conflict in the region, have been forced to close due to lack of money.

Funding shortfalls also threaten the closure of a further 49 clinics in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, with $7m (£5.69m) required to keep the facilities open for another year, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. About 1 million people are likely to be affected by the closure of the clinics, with poverty deepening amid the country’s economic crisis.

About 4.6 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in Sudan, more than half of those children. Food insecurity has been exacerbated by unrest in Darfur, which has resulted in the displacement of an estimated 2.6 million people, at a time when the country is also struggling with an influx of nearly 250,000 refugees fleeing conflict in South Sudan. According to Ocha, more than 2 million children under the age of five are acutely malnourished.

Ocha Sudan spokeswoman Samantha Newport said the UN appeal for the country is almost 50% underfunded.