West Kordofan Ministry of Welfare caring for 30+ South Sudanese children

The Ministry of Welfare and Social Development in West Kordofan, represented by the Child and Motherhood Welfare Council, has received more than 30 displaced children as a result of conflicts from South Sudan.

West Kordofan’s Minister of Welfare, Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Salam, confirmed to the press that “the children were being cared for and supported within the framework of humanitarian responsibility” until they can be handed over to their families in Khartoum.

Minister Abdel Salam appealed to the relevant bodies of humanitarian work in the state to stand by his ministry in order to assume its social role.

Presidential visit

Last week, the President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit, held a two-day visit to Sudan during which he had joint talks with the President Omar Al Bashir, on bilateral relations and means for strengthening them further.

UNHCR

In October, the representation of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Sudan expressed concern about “the inadequate response to the humanitarian needs of South Sudanese refugees in Khartoum”. The UNHCR laments that “over the past few months, thousands of refugees have been relocated or had their shelters demolished without adequate planning and consultation with the communities”.

The UNHCR statement asserts that the latest reports indicate that some 220 shelters in Dar Es-Salam’s open area were removed by police on 23 October, reportedly leaving some 2,000 South Sudanese refugees without shelter. Other refugees have been relocated to Bantiu site in Jebel Auliya locality and Naivasha site in Omdurman where inadequate reception planning has resulted in over-crowding, inadequate shelter, and over-stretched water and sanitation facilities.