KASSALA – About 3,900 asylum seekers in Sudan’s Shagarab refugee camps urgently need shelter materials and humanitarian assistance, camp officials said, as authorities and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reviewed conditions in the camps.
Muzaffar Jaafar Al-Fahal, director of the Shagarab refugee camps, discussed the situation with UNHCR field, protection and engineering officers from the agency’s Kassala office, focusing on the needs of refugees and asylum seekers and ways to improve the humanitarian response.
Al-Fahal said a detailed report had been submitted on the conditions and urgent needs of the asylum seekers, with the aim of finding rapid solutions through coordination between the relevant authorities and humanitarian partners.
The meeting also discussed a proposal to form a joint high-level committee between Sudan’s Commissioner for Refugees and UNHCR to provide financial assistance through cash-based interventions in the coming period.
Officials recommended a field visit to a new site designated to receive newly arrived refugees in South Shagarab camp, as well as the preparation of an emergency plan for receiving Ethiopian and Eritrean refugees and responding to expected humanitarian needs.
Eastern Sudan has long hosted refugees and asylum seekers from neighboring countries, particularly Eritrea and Ethiopia, while the war that erupted in Sudan in April 2023 has placed additional pressure on humanitarian services, shelter capacity and reception systems in several states.
The meeting also recommended strengthening community committees, improving communication with refugees, and conducting weekly interviews with refugees in the three Shagarab camps through a joint team from the Commissioner for Refugees and UNHCR to identify challenges and seek urgent and sustainable solutions.
Al-Fahal stressed the importance of continued coordination and joint action to improve the humanitarian response and address obstacles affecting services for refugees and asylum seekers.
