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WFP announced on Thursday that it was launching a $3.4 million emergency feeding programme in Kassala state in the east of the country for up to 50,000 refugees from the fighting in neighbouring western Eritrea. WFP said approximately 15,000 people had crossed the border in the past week and that 35,000 more were on their way across the border. “They are arriving weak, tired and in shock. Their health will deteriorate rapidly if we don’t quickly help them,” said Mohamed Zejjari, WFP Regional Director for Africa.
UNHCR reported on Wednesday it was making preparations for the same number. In Nairobi, International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) spokeswoman Caroline Hurford told IRIN on Thursday that it and the Sudanese Red Crescent (SRCS) had launched a preliminary appeal for $795,000 to assist up to 80,000 people that the authorities believe could eventually arrive in Sudan. She said the refugees, mainly women, children and the elderly, were in reasonably good health, but many had brought very little with them.
Their immediate needs had been identified as water, sanitation, shelter, food and medical supplies, Hurford said.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
