The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate: atrocities continue, people are still dying in large numbers of malnutrition and disease, and a new famine is feared.
According to recent reports by the World Food Program, the United Nations and the Coalition for International Justice, 3.5 million people are now starving, 2.5 million have been displaced due to violence and 400,000 people have died in Darfur thus far.
The international community is failing to protect civilians or to influence the Sudanese government to do so.
Rape has become a hallmark of the crimes against humanity in Darfur. It has proven one way for the Janjaweed militias to continue attacking Darfurians after driving them from their homes.
Families must continue collecting wood, fetching water or working their fields, and in doing so, women daily put themselves or their children at the risk of rape, beatings or death as soon as they are outside the camps, towns or villages.
Aid organisations have provided food, healthcare, sanitation and shelter, but there are many parts of Sudan that they have not been able to reach due to weather conditions and lack of resources.
"The deepening crisis in Darfur, means that the coming months of the rainy season will bring deeper misery. A shortage of money has forced the World Food Program to halve rations in Darfur, and other aid agencies also face deep cuts after a slump in donations" (New York Times, 8 May 2006) .
Despite having a consistent and effective presence in Southern Sudan, World Vision had been negotiating for many years to gain access to the Northern Sudan regions, including Darfur.
As the extent of the crisis was realised by the international community, greater pressure was placed on the GoS to allow further humanitarian aid work permits for the affected North. After a long wait, World Vision International received formal registration from the GoS on 16 June 2004.
World Vision’s International Partnership led an initial assessment team to the Darfur regions and consequently
mobilised Global Rapid Response Team (GRRT) directly to the field – at the same time, placing all World Vision support offices around the globe to the highest relief response mode.
This included freeing up personnel to attend to the crisis, as well as appealing to our supporters and major donors for contributions toward our international relief efforts.
• Delivery of Non-food items, including tarpaulins for shelter, cooking utensils, hygiene kits and mosquito nets
• Distribution of food aid, including sorghum, wheat, pulses, peas, salt and oil, to more than 250,000 beneficiaries within four IDP camps around Nyala
• Establishment of a primary health care clinic in the Otash IDP camp, including construction, training of local staff and volunteers, a supplementary feeding program for children under 5, as well as broader community education. Beneficiaries have been in excess of 5,000 women and children.
• Protection projects, including stove distribution that reduces time women spend looking for firewood,
as well as a focus on child protection, where WV is now preparing for child-friendly spaces and an educational component to programming.
• Water supply points for IDPs living in camps. World Vision continues to identify massive water and sanitation needs and is working on proposals to deliver these in collaboration with local authority groups.
• WV Australia has specifically funded a WFP food distribution in Darfur, providing 22,075 metric tonnes of food to more than 250,000 people from August to December 2004. This distribution is currently underway, providing food to IDPs in eleven formal and informal camps.
• Health project in Darfur, called Malaria preparedness and response program. As part of this program, WV Australia has utilised both AusAID match funds as well as provide supporter donations. This project focuses on the reduction of malaria and other diseases, in and around Nyala town. As it steps up its operations in the coming months, it will provide, medical supplies, testing instruments as well as community awareness training about malaria and how it can be prevented.
• On the Chad side, World Vision Australia has also contributed to NFI distributions, as well has had significant input to protection activities. This has included child-focused protection and the planning of child-friendly spaces.
• Financial contributions to the WV partnership activities of NFI and food aid distributions in Darfur
• Contributions to management of programs in the field, including preparation of proposals and strategic planning for implementation. Funding was also provided by Australia for the GRRT, who set up initial emergency response activities in Darfur.
• WV Australia is continuing to work through more proposals and project opportunities over the coming months. It is likely that food distributions will continue over the next 12 months, as well as other programming activities, particularly around health and child protection sectors.
This month (December 2004), two World Vision Australia staff are visiting Darfur to monitor existing program activities, as well as to determine opportunities for further work with the funding provided by World Vision Australia’s generous supporters.