25 March 2014 - With the humanitarian situation in Sudan deteriorating and neighbouring South Sudan “imploding,” UN relief officials today appealed to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.

John Ging, Operations Director of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), cited an urgent need to mobilize funding for the crisis in Sudan, where some 6.1 million people currently need assistance – a 40 per cent increase over this time last year.

Malnutrition and food insecurity are escalating at an “alarming” rate, with some 500,000 children affected, he told a news conference in New York.

The situation is particularly dire in Darfur, where renewed violence is displacing larger and larger numbers of civilians – almost 400,000 newly displaced in 2013, and almost 200,000 more so far this year.

Mr. Ging, who recently visited both Sudan and South Sudan, described as “very tragic” what has happened in neighbouring South Sudan.

Fighting between government and opposition forces in the country, which began in mid-December, has left nearly 5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, including 3.7 million at high risk of food insecurity.

“You have the newest country in the world now imploding,” he stated, noting that the conflict is setting back the very fragile development that was occurring since the country gained independence from Sudan in July 2011.

Amid the “senseless” brutality, some 700,000 people have been displaced internally, including 67,000 who are sheltering at UN bases around the country, while almost a quarter of a million people have sought refuge in neighbouring countries.

One of the major challenges in South Sudan, Mr. Ging said, is lack of respect for humanitarian staff, convoys, facilities and supplies, which includes delays and checkpoints for convoys.

Another major challenge is funding, particularly as the rainy season draws near. “We are in a race against time with the rainy season fast approaching that we have to pre-position stocks.”

Amid the worsening crisis in South Sudan, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP) this week appealed for $371 million in urgently needed support for the thousands of South Sudanese refugees arriving in neighbouring countries.

Since fighting erupted in mid-December, 204,000 people have fled to Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia and Kenya, according to UNHCR. With continuing insecurity and growing food shortages inside South Sudan, the agency expects the number of South Sudanese refugees across the region to reach 340,000 by the end of the year.

The majority are women, children and older people. With some 700,000 people displaced inside South Sudan and 3.7 million at high risk of food insecurity, the potential for further cross-border movement is high.

“Given these trends, the regional emergency response announced yesterday will focus on protection activities and other life-saving needs. These include emergency food, water, sanitation and health,” said Mr. Edwards, adding that UNHCR “will be developing and expanding refugee camps and other sites where basic services will be available.”