It has been over a month since Khartoum
ordered the expulsion
of 13 international non-governmental organizations and the suspension of three
national NGOs in Darfur. Although assessments
of the region highlight the dire consequences of this decision, current efforts
fail to adequately compensate for the resulting gaps in humanitarian aid.
According to aid workers, women and children, 60
percent of the 2.7 million people displaced since 2003, will be the hardest
hit by the expulsions. With limited health options, women are resorting to “baladi”
methods, a mixture of herbs and magic, to treat serious health conditions. Mastoura
Hussein, a 22-year-old woman who lives in Abu Shouk Camp, has decided to
seek the treatment of a traditional healer for her uterus inflammation, a risky
alternative that she previously would not have considered.
Efforts to replenish basic necessities in camps may also
lead to an increase in violence
against women. For example, women may venture away from camps more often in
search of water or firewood and consequently become more vulnerable to attacks.
The UN
Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has attempted to plug aid gaps by providing six
primary health center kits containing medicine and equipment in El Fasher,
capital of North Darfur State. UNICEF has also tried to alleviate water, sanitation and hygiene conditions in
the Zam Zam camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs). Unfortunately,
similar efforts have not been made in any of the camps in West
Darfur.
It is also likely that the humanitarian consequences of the expulsions
will overwhelm the under-equipped international peacekeeping mission in Darfur. Kanjethe Munagi
of Kenya's Social Reform Centre states: "If the decision to expel the aid
agencies is not reversed, there is a risk that the African Union peacekeepers
currently in Darfur with the joint United Nations African Union Mission for
Darfur will be faced with the prospect of protecting a civilian population that
is at the same time dying from hunger, thirst and disease.”
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