The United Nations (UN) Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) on Monday announced that it has allocated $5 million for its humanitarian efforts in Egypt to accommodate people fleeing Sudanese fighting, reported The Egypt Today.
“As the refugee numbers surpassed 220,000 in a month, UNHCR and partners launched the Sudan Regional Refugee Response Plan, in conjunction with the amended Sudan HRP,” the CERF said.
The fighting that began in Sudan on 15 April 2023 led to a large number of civilian casualties and internal displacement in Sudan.
In a statement, the UN body said that the funding will be used to provide food, water and sanitation, healthcare services, cash assistance, and psycho-social support to refugees, returnees, asylum-seekers, and third-country nationals from Sudan as well as their host communities in Egypt.
According to the statement, Egypt has received the largest number of Sudanese refugees since the conflicts erupted on April 15. It added that more than 1, 13,000 people arrived crossing the Egyptian-Sudanese borders as of May 17, and the number continues to increase with around 5,000 arrivals per day.
The UN refugee agency estimated that about 3, 50,000 people would enter Egypt from Sudan in the next six months.
CERF has also provided a total of $17 million to other neighboring countries of Sudan which has received refugees, including Chad, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan. The UN fund has allocated $4 million for the Central African Republic, $5m for Chad, and $8m for South Sudan.
On Saturday, Sudanese warring factions agreed to abide by a seven-day humanitarian ceasefire after talks in Jeddah. Representatives from the Sudanese army and paramilitary forces have promised not to seek any military advantage before the ceasefire deal started on Monday, May 22. The ceasefire, which has been reached after several previous attempts have failed, could be extended if both factions agree.
