Sudan, Peacekeepers to Appeal for $1.43 Billion for Darfur Water Projects

The United Nations and African Union mission in Darfur said it will work with Sudan’s government to try to raise $1.43 billion for water projects in the western Sudanese region at a donors conference in June.

“The scarcity of water and lack of water management in Darfur, compounded with a fast-growing population, has contributed to conflict in Darfur,” the peacekeeping mission, based in El Fasher in North Darfur state, said today in an e- mailed statement.

The conference, organized by the UN and the Sudanese government, aims to attract more than 200 participants to fund 56 water projects, according to the statement. The event will be held in the capital, Khartoum, June 27 and 28, it said.

The Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Muslim world’s biggest group, raised $850 million at a donors conference for Darfur reconstruction in Cairo in March last year, less than its aim of $2 billion.

Fighting in Darfur exploded in 2003 when insurgents took up arms, accusing the government of neglecting the region. The conflict has led to the deaths of as many as 300,000 people, mainly due to illness and starvation, and forced about 2.7 million to flee their homes, according to UN estimates. The Sudanese government has put the death toll at about 10,000.

To contact the reporter on this story: Maram Mazen in Khartoum at mmazen@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at barden@bloomberg.net.

• LinkedIn
• Google +1
• Print
• QUEUE