It is estimated that over 28,000 South Sudanese refugees arrived in Sudan during the first half of May 2017, according to a report from the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR.
The recent influx of refugees increases the total number to 417,000 South Sudanese people who have been displaced by civil conflict and famine since December 2013.
In the first few months of 2017, almost 137,000 refugees arrived from the country, already belittling the previous number of arrivals during 2016.
In the first half of May this year, thousands of refugees sought shelter and assistance in Sudan, mainly as a result of the ongoing hostilities in Kodok in South Sudan’s Upper Nile State.
Over 13,000 refugees are currently in White Nile, and more than 5,000 in South Kordofan. The UNHCR also reported that around 9,000 South Sudanese refugees arrived in the East Darfur and South Darfur states in the first 15 days of May.
Those refugees who arrive in Darfur region are generally from Bahr el-Ghazal and are fleeing hunger and insecurity.
With such a vast increase in refugees, it is putting additional strains on an already-fragile service provision in camps and settlement sites, prompting UNHCR and partners to step up efforts to achieve minimum emergency standards as quickly as possible.
Earlier this month, UNHCR and the World Food Programme (WFP) launched the Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRRP) for South Sudan and called on international donors to step up support for people fleeing South Sudan.
“Humanitarian agencies are seeking $1.4 billion to provide life-saving aid to 1.8 million South Sudanese refugees in the six neighbouring countries, including Sudan, until the end of 2017, the Sudan Tribune reported.
The Sudan portion of the RRRP is less than 10 percent funded, according to the Sudan Humanitarian Bulletin of the UNOCHA Sudan, citing UNHCR.
