Representatives of the rebel movements in Sudans western Darfur region have agreed to allow some 500,000 children cut off from regular health services to be vaccinated against such potentially killer diseases as measles and polio, the United Nations announced Tuesday.
Agreement was reached with the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) after a UN team met their representatives last Friday in Asmara, Eritrea, according to the UN in Khartoum. The Sudanese Health Ministry endorsed the initiative.
The top UN envoy for Sudan, Jan Pronk, welcomed the development. This is a good example of the kind of cooperation needed from both sides to deliver the relief that is urgently needed, he said from Khartoum. It is crucial that vaccines reach all children in all areas of Darfur.
Although a massive vaccination campaign had already reached millions of children in Darfur, an estimated half million youngsters missed out because they were living behind rebel lines.
Meanwhile, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the security situation in Darfur remained tenuous, with more violence directed at, and displacing, civilians in North and South Darfur States.
Militia suspected to be Janjaweed attacked some 35 families on Saturday in Tawilla, North Darfur. Reports also continue of attacks by armed men on horses and camels, supported by uniformed men and military vehicles, in South Darfur.
In North Darfur, there also have been reports of Sudanese authorities offering up to 100,000 Sudanese dinars, or nearly 400 dollars, to leaders of groups of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to get them to persuade people to return voluntarily to their areas of origin.
Despite pressure, the IDPs are choosing to stay put because of security concerns. There are some 1.2 million IDPs in Sudan, with another 200,000 Sudanese across the border in Chad housed in refugee camps.
Humanitarian agencies have been travelling to rebel-held areas in North Darfur that had previously been off-limits to assess the local needs, OCHA said. The latest assessment team completed its mission to three sites Friday and said humanitarian assistance was urgently needed for some 50,000 displaced persons there.
Kilde Irinnews, FN
