Response to funding appeal insufficient, uneven - UN

Donor support for humanitarian aid and recovery projects in Sudan has remained insufficient and unbalanced, a UN spokesperson said on Monday. The 2005 UN Work Plan for the Sudan, released in November 2004, had appealed for US $1.5 billion to fund an emergency programme to support humanitarian, protection, recovery and development activities in the conflict-affected country in 2005. Donors had so far contributed only $387 million, about a quarter of the requested funds, according to a Work Plan Funding Overview of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released on 13 March. "Darfur is fairly well funded, but the majority is for food aid," Dawn Elizabeth Blalock, spokesperson for the UN humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, told IRIN on Monday. The lion's share of the donations to Sudan went towards food assistance, while other sectors, including health, education, shelter and water, received three percent or less. "The situation in Sudan is both incredibly complex and diverse. The needs in Darfur, for example, are completely different to the south or the east," Manuel Aranda da Silva, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for humanitarian affairs and development and humanitarian coordinator, said in a statement. On average, Darfur received about 75 percent of the donated funds, while southern Sudan received slightly more than 14 percent. National programmes, including mine action, infrastructure and the rule of law, got an eight percent allocation, while the rest of Sudan, including the east and the transitional areas, got no more than one percent. Meanwhile, 35 international donors, representing 11 countries and the European Union, returned to Khartoum on Saturday from a five-day field visit. The trip was intended to highlight needs in areas that had received less attention and support. "Nothing can compare to seeing the constraints, challenges and opportunities on the ground. Donors will be able to return to their headquarters fully appraised of the multiple challenges Sudan faces throughout the country," Aranda da Silva said. The donors said lack of basic social services and endemic poverty in the east had led to severe poverty conditions, including alarming malnutrition rates. Despite the deplorable state of affairs, the region had received none of the funding needed to meet food aid requirements for the period running up to the end of March. Immediate action and funding was also needed to assist those who were returning to southern Sudan. "We have only six weeks left to get supplies in the south before the rainy season starts," Blalock said. Although the humanitarian situation had stabilised in Darfur, the donor mission found that the general situation remained precarious, while protection violations were continuing at an alarming rate.