Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, has said the international community needed to act with a heightened sense of urgency to address the war-torn country of Sudan.
"Sudan keeps getting forgotten by the international community," the UN aid chief told diplomats at the United Nations in Geneva on Wednesday.
"There is a certain kind of obscenity about the humanitarian world, which is the competition of suffering, a competition between places: 'I have more suffering than you, so I need to get more attention, so I need to get more money.'"
A war in Sudan between its armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has been ongoing since April, and diplomatic endeavors have failed so far.
“I have been in touch in the last couple of weeks with both generals - Burhan and Hemedti - to get them to follow up their commitments,” regarding the aid delivery, Griffiths said.
Griffiths told reporters the warring sides had been invited to Geneva to discuss how civilians can access aid. He said the parties had agreed in principle, but the details of any meeting still needed to be worked out.
The UN on Wednesday urged countries not to forget the civilians caught up in the war in Sudan, appealing for $4.1 billion to meet their humanitarian needs and support those who have fled to neighboring countries.
Half of Sudan's population - around 25 million people - need humanitarian assistance and protection, while more than 1.5 million people have fled to the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Sudan, according to the UN.
Meanwhile, Advisor at the Royal Court and Supervisor General of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Rabeeah met Wednesday in Riyadh with the UN Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra.
During the meeting, they discussed issues related to relief and humanitarian affairs in Sudan.
Lamamra hailed the humanitarian efforts provided by Saudi Arabia through its humanitarian arm, KSrelief, in Sudan.
Separately, the Saudi Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Engineer Walid bin Abdul-Karim Al-Khuraiji, met in Riyadh with the US Special Advisor on Sudan, Daniel Rubinstein, to discuss the developments in Sudan, in addition to regional and international issues.
