UNICEF and United States supply temporary shelter to flood-hit Sudanese

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United States have teamed up to provide temporary shelter for almost 80,000 households hit by recent flooding in northern Sudan.

An in-kind donation of 1,300 rolls of plastic sheeting was airlifted into the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, yesterday, according to a press release issued by UNICEF.

These materials will be used as part of the Common Pipeline System, a quick-response relief distribution network set up in northern Sudan in 2004 and managed by UNICEF, the UN Joint Logistics Centre and the non-governmental organization (NGO) CARE International.

The pipeline has already allowed UN agencies and NGOs to deliver urgent supplies, including health kits, blankets, mosquito nets, jerry cans and soap, to an estimated 200,000 people affected by the floods across nine states in northern Sudan.

As many as 365,000 people are thought to be affected by the floods, which may worsen as river levels rise and meteorologists forecast more heavy rain in coming weeks. Floods are an annual problem in Sudan during the rainy season.

Three states in southern Sudan have also been affected, and UNICEF has provided supplies, including cooking sets, blankets and mosquito nets, to about 150,000 people there.

UNICEF representative Ted Chaiban, who was joined by United States and Sudanese officials to take delivery of the plastic sheeting on its arrival in Khartoum, welcomed the collaborative response of the UN, NGOs, the Sudanese Government and the international community.

“The people you see around me this morning are invaluable partners,” he said. “Each actor works like a cog in the machine, complementing and adding value to one another.”