The British Red Cross will continue to support a vital nutrition programme for malnourished children in Darfur, Sudan where nearly four million
people are still suffering the brunt of the four-year conflict.The programme in Darfur supports the work of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which is one of the few
organisations with access to remote and rural areas.In partnership with the Australian Red Cross and the ICRC, the British Red Cross had been supporting two feeding centres in Gereida but
these merged into one in December, with a view to handing over to other organisations to run.It is easy to forget Darfur when it is not in the headlines but people suffer daily from this
ongoing tragic conflict.Ros Armitage, British Red CrossWhile the main focus of the ICRC's activities is on assisting people in rural areas, the organisation continues to provide
primary healthcare, water and sanitation, as well as distributing food in Gereida camp due to the lack of any other humanitarian agency able to take on these tasks. Ros Armitage, British Red
Cross conflict operations manager, said: "We are continuing to support the nutrition programme and we are willing to extend our support to the ICRC if necessary."She added: "It is easy to
forget Darfur when it is not in the headlines but people suffer daily from this ongoing tragic conflict. After Iraq, this is the largest Red Cross operation worldwide, and while it continues we are
committed to helping alleviate the suffering of thousands of families."Nurse Mairi Maguire, from Scotland, has been working at the feeding centre in Gereida, which is home to one of the
largest camps for displaced people. The camp's population fluctuates between nearly 90,000 to 120,000 people."If the Red Cross wasn't working here in the camp things would be incredibly difficult for
people," she said. "There would be a much higher death rate than there is at the moment."Neighbouring Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR) have also been affected by internal conflict
and population movements across the borders have exacerbated an already complex situation.The humanitarian crisis across the region led to the launch of a Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC)
appeal last year, which raised £11.5 million.DEC funds allocated to the British Red Cross are supporting the ICRC's work in Chad and CAR. The British Red Cross' Darfur Crisis Appeal
remains open and funds raised will be used to support the ICRC.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
A mother with her children who had typhoid fever recuperate in their makeshift beds along the corridors of the Jose P. Rizal medical center, a government hospital in Calamba city, Laguna ...
