In response to the massive displacement in South Sudan, the United Nations announced the allocation of 10 million dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the central fund for the response to emergencies of the United Nations – also supported by Italy for enable an effective and rapid response to humanitarian crises by organizations present on site.
Since April 15th, 2023, due to the crisis in Sudan, almost 490,000 people have fled to neighboring countries, particularly South Sudan. Since mid-December 2023, there has been a significant increase in the daily number of new arrivals, averaging 1,800 people per day, and thousands of arrivals are expected over the next six months. People arriving in the country require life-saving humanitarian assistance, but some sites are already overcrowded: further worsening health conditions across the country, including in refugee camps, transit centers in neighboring countries, and border crossings where people arrive.
Specifically, the budget allocated by CERF for South Sudan will be used to continue supporting the efforts made for the well-being and protection of new arrivals from mid-December. The funding will help rapidly expand essential services and capacities, including supporting transportation, building shelters, providing water, sanitation, and providing cash support.
Since its establishment, Italian Cooperation has invested in CERF according to the annual budget availability from the portion dedicated to humanitarian aid. In light of growing global humanitarian needs, since 2016, Italian support to the United Nations fund has been steadily increasing. In 2022, Italy reached (for the first time since the establishment of CERF) 9th place among the Fund’s donors, with over 17 million dollars. In 2023, the disbursement of 15 million euros allowed to position itself in the group of the main 10 donors of the Fund which currently sees the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Canada, USA, Belgium and Italy.