Aid workers find 'dire conditions' in Darfur town that had been off limits

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/10/aid-workers-find-dire-conditions-guldo-darfur

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Aid workers in Sudan have found dire conditions after entering a town in war-torn Darfur that had been off limits for three years, the UN said Thursday.

Government restrictions had prevented humanitarian workers from accessing the Jebel Marra region in Darfur where a rebellion began 11 years ago. The only exception was the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which was providing services in the town of Guldo and some of the surrounding area until Khartoum suspended operations on 1 February.

For the first time since August 2011, authorities allowed non-ICRC aid workers into Guldo where they found the "humanitarian situation dire", the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in its weekly bulletin.

"The town has had no functioning health services since ICRC activities were suspended," OCHA said. "It was also found that over 50% of the population in Guldo had no access to sanitation facilities, and no garbage collection services are in place. Hygiene promotion activities also stopped with the suspension of ICRC operations."

An estimated 100,000 people in Jebel Marra have been severely affected or displaced by conflict, but aid workers have not been able to access other parts of the district to confirm the situation.

In May, the ICRC said the suspension was having a severe impact. Authorities accused the organisation of violating guidelines. The suspension was one of many restrictions placed on foreign aid workers in Sudan, where humanitarians are struggling to meet the needs of more than six million people.