U.N. expands its Sudanese refugee aid program to cover Libya and Uganda

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced this week that it would be extending its Sudanese aid program to two other countries taking in large numbers of Sudanese refugees: Libya and Uganda. 

According to the U.N., at least 20,000 Sudanese refugees have already fled to Libya. Reuters reports the U.N. projects that number to balloon to 149,000 by year’s end. Many are coming from the Darfur region where ethnic violence has surged in recent months.

"It just speaks to the desperate situation and desperate decisions that people are making, that they end up in a place like Libya which is of course extremely, extremely difficult for refugees right now," the UNHCR's Ewan Watson told reporters in Geneva.

The head of the UNHCR previously warned that some of those refugees may seek to travel further to Europe if additional aid isn’t provided. 

The U.N, says it now requires $1.5 billion, up from $1.4 billion in January, to assist and protect up to 3.3 million people forced to flee, as well as local communities in neighboring countries, until the end of the year. 

According to the U.N., the 14-month-old civil war in Sudan has caused 10 million to flee their homes. Twomillion have left the country making it the biggest displacement crisis in the world. 

With much of the attention on Gaza and Ukraine, funding has been constrained for Sudan. The UNHCR says its plan is lower than 20% funded. 

"Refugees, families are forced to sleep in the open and medical facilities just can't keep up with the growing needs that we are facing," Watson said.