Conflicts on the border

last updated February 2013

Oxfam is working with a Sudanese partner organization to respond to the humanitarian emergency that began unfolding in the summer of 2011, when armed conflict erupted between government and rebel forces in the states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile; in April of 2012, border clashes between Sudan and South Sudan triggered another wave of displacement in the same states; in all, more than 900,000 people have been displaced or severely affected by the recent conflicts in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

Oxfam’s partner program in South Kordofan

Aid providers are unable to reach many of those who are caught in this latest conflict, but an Oxfam partner has reached 45,000 people with a range of interventions, including:

• rehabilitating wells and installing hand pumps;
• distributing seeds, tools, and donkey carts;
• promoting health and hygiene; and
• distributing relief materials.

Oxfam’s work in the Jamam camps

Refugees from the conflict between Sudan and the SPLM-N continue to flow across the borders into Ethiopia and South Sudan. In the camps of Jamam in Upper Nile, South Sudan, many are arriving in a traumatized state, having trekked long distances without enough food or water. But the conditions in the camps where they have sought refuge are dire: residents and aid providers have had to contend with severe shortages of food and water, soft soil conditions that interfere with well drilling, and huge price increases for essentials like fuel and food.

Oxfam is helping more than 32,000 refugees in the Upper Nile region gain access to drinking water and sanitation, as well as hygiene materials like soap, and we are providing cash relief to help people cope with rising food prices.

Read more about the Jamam camps.