Steady rate of new arrivals continues, with majority crossing through East Darfur and South Darfur in March.
Fuel shortages slow logistics and field movements, limiting partners’ capacity to delivery humanitarian assistance.
Food pipeline breaks are ongoing across the response, with gaps in cooking oil, pulses and salt commodities.
4,348 New arrivals in March 2018
14,690 Total new arrivals in 2018
768,830 South Sudanese refugees in Sudan (*Additional sources estimate that there are 1.3 million South Sudanese refugees in Sudan; however, data requires verification.)
Population Update
ONGOING STEADY RATE OF NEW ARRIVALS – Over 4,300 South Sudanese refugees newly arrived in Sudan in March, for a total of nearly 15,000 who have arrived in Sudan in 2018 so far. This is only slightly below the 4-year average of over 18,000 during the same period from 2014 – 2017. Following ongoing biometric registration processes in Kario, East Darfur; Dilling, South Kordofan; and Al Lait North Darfur, the total verified South Sudanese refugee population currently stands at nearly 769,000.
SOUTH SUDAN FOOD INSECURITY INCREASINGLY DRIVING NEW ARRIVAL FLOWS INTO EAST AND SOUTH DARFUR – East and South Darfur are the largest recipients of new arrivals so far in 2018, with over 60% new arrivals arriving in both states. Reports indicate that people are likely fleeing escalating food insecurity and conflict in Western and Northern Bahr Ghazal states in South Sudan. According to the Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET), there is ‘Emergency’ (Level 4) acute food insecurity in all of Western Bahr Ghazal and ‘Crisis’ (Level 3) across most of Northern Bahr Ghazal. The situation is expected to worsen through to September, with risk of famine anticipated June – September in Wau area of Western Bahr Ghazal. There is also elevated risk of conflict in affected areas as food supplies become increasingly scarce.
Operational Update
NATIONAL FUEL SHORTAGES SLOWS HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE – Fuel shortages across Sudan worsened at the end of March, interfering with response logistics and slowing down humanitarian assistance at refugee locations. While some relief has been provided with renewed availability of fuel supplies, additional shortages are anticipated in the coming months. ! FOOD PIPELINE BREAKS ARE ONGOING ACROSS THE RESPONSE – According to WFP, import restrictions and clearance delays are driving general food distribution (GFD) gaps to refugees across Sudan.
There are ongoing pipeline breaks for pulses, cooking oil and salt, with refugees in most location receiving partial rations with key commodities missing. The cooking oil gap will likely be resolved in April.
LATRINE GAPS PERSIST ACROSS WHITE NILE REFUGEE CAMPS – Nearly 80,000 refugees across all 8 camps are without access to a latrine. Dabat Bosin has the largest gap, with 130 persons per latrine, followed by Al Waral and Um Sangour camps. Latrine gaps disproportionately impact women, where a lack of gender-segregated latrines and having to use open spaces puts women at risk of sexual and genderbased violence (SGBV). The Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SHF) allocated USD $1.5 M to address WASH gaps in refugee camps in White Nile. Work by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), Plan International Sudan and the Friends of Peace & Development (FPDO) is currently underway.
NEW RECEPTION CENTRE INSTALLED AT GEDEID, SOUTH KORDOFAN – The Government of Sudan’s Commission for Refugees (COR) completed the installation of a new reception centre at Gedeid in Abu Jubaiha locality. Abu Jubaiha is a key settlement area for new arrivals in South Kordofan. In 2017, an estimated 40% of new arrivals crossed through Gedeid, Sirajiya and Quaryd. The reception centre will provide health screenings, hot meals and household registration.