EU announces $8.6M in funding to support people who fled Sudan conflict

The EU on Monday announced €8 million ($8.6 million) in funding to support the integration and well-being of thousands of people who fled the ongoing fighting in Sudan and found refuge in South Sudan.

The funding is part of €17 million channeled through the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to the regional countries bordering Sudan-including Chad and Ethiopia.

"The program aims at including refugees and returnees in the service delivery system while improving their livelihoods and ensuring peaceful coexistence with host communities … It will improve living conditions of those forced to flee and at the same time contribute to security and stability in the region," Timo Olkonnen, the EU's ambassador to South Sudan, told journalists in the capital Juba.

Marie-Helene Verney, UNHCR country representative, praised South Sudan for keeping its borders open for people fleeing conflict in Sudan.

She said the money will be used to help displaced people rebuild their lives.

"This contribution is a demonstration of solidarity with South Sudan and the communities that are hosting refugees and returnees," Verney said.

John McCue, IOM's chief of mission in South Sudan, said humanitarian support for the displaced population is needed to restart their lives, adding that IOM and partners are calling for more support to assist people affected by the crisis in Sudan.

About 6.6 million people have been displaced inside and outside Sudan since fighting broke out between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in mid-April, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.