Asked by: Lord Avebury (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what information they have about (1) the levels of malnutrition and disease among children in each of the camps for internally displaced people in Darfur, and (2) the plans of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to deal with those problems.
Answered by Baroness Verma
The executive summary of the comprehensive survey undertaken by UNICEF of nutrition and health indicators in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Darfur, funded by DFID at the end of 2013, is available online. This survey confirms that overall levels of nutrition and health in Darfur IDP camps continue to be of concern, for example 44% of children in Zamzam camp in North Darfur were recorded as suffering from stunting. Indicators for camps in North and Central Darfur are generally worse than camps in other areas; however the health and nutrition situation for IDPs located in camps tends to be better than the situation for resident and displaced populations in other parts of Darfur located outside of camps. A follow up survey, to be partially funded by DFID, is planned to take place in mid-2016.
The United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has played a central role in developing the Sudan 2015 Humanitarian Response Plan which aims to address the humanitarian needs of up to 5.4 million vulnerable people in Darfur and other parts of Sudan and appeals for funding of £650 million to achieve this. In line with agreed strategic objectives, OCHA coordinates the activities of in country partners, including other UN agencies and national and international non-governmental organisations and allocates funding received through the appeal to humanitarian projects across Sudan, such as those to tackle disease and malnutrition. DFID is the third largest humanitarian donor in support of this appeal.