Aiding children displaced by conflict in Darfur
Source: Plan USA - US
Plan USA
Website: http://www.planusa.org
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Women gather next to a food distribution center at a camp for displaced people, north of the Darfur town of Fasher, June 14, 2006.
Photo: Reuters/Zohra Bensemra, courtesy of www.alertnet.org
Photo: Reuters/Zohra Bensemra, courtesy of www.alertnet.org
Plan is launching a $500,000 appeal to provide emergency assistance to children and other internally displaced Sudanese in North Darfur.
Donations will provide medical care,food,clean water, and child protection.
As the conflict in the Darfur region of the Sudan continues since 2003, ongoing fighting between the Sudanese Government and rebels has resulted in indiscriminate attacks on villages and the killing and maiming of hundreds of thousands of people. Millions of highly vulnerable and traumatized people have been forced to flee their homes and are living in camps, completely dependant on humanitarian aid.
According to the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR), there are an estimated two million displaced persons in north, south and west Darfur.
As the humanitarian situation moves into its third year, and the conflict into its fourth, the deteriorating security situation and the ongoing funding restraints severely threaten hard-won humanitarian gains.
In North Darfur, where Plan operates, IDP (internally displaced persons) camps have become increasingly insecure and militarized, with violence against girls and women on the rise. Children and their families require both medical and psychological care and support.
The main objective of Plan's operation in North Darfur is to reduce the short-term impact of displacement by providing emergency assistance to children, expectant mothers and other vulnerable groups with an emphasis on primary health care, water and sanitation, and child protection. The project is expected to benefit 30,000 children and 90,000 adults in three IDP camps.
Plan has been in operation in Sudan since 1977. Today, the 70-year-old international charity currently serves a population of approximately 450,000 children and adults. Programs focus on basic health care, HIV/AIDS, water and sanitation, primary education, food security, children and youth leadership.
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