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Arab News
2 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
Trump vowed to remake aid. Is Gaza the future?
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has slashed US aid and vowed a major rethink on helping the world. A controversial effort to bring food to Gaza may offer clues on what's to come. Administered by contracted US security with Israeli troops at the perimeter, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is distributing food through several hubs in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip. An officially private effort with opaque funding, the GHF began operations on May 26 after Israel completely cut off supplies into Gaza for over two months, sparking warnings of mass famine. The organization said it had distributed 2.1 million meals as of Friday. The initiative excludes the UN, which has long coordinated aid distribution in the war-ravaged territory and has infrastructure and systems in place to deliver assistance on a large scale. The UN and other major aid groups have refused to cooperate with GHF, saying it violates basic humanitarian principles, and appears crafted to cater to Israeli military objectives. 'What we have seen is chaotic, it's tragic and it's resulted in hundreds of thousands of people scrambling in an incredibly undignified and unsafe way to access a tiny trickle of aid,' said Ciaran Donnelly, senior vice president of international programs at the International Rescue Committee . Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said his aid group stopped work in Gaza in 2015 when Hamas militants invaded its office and that it refused to cooperate in Syria when former strongman Bashar Assad was pressuring opposition-held areas by withholding food. 'Why on earth would we be willing to let the Israeli military decide how, where and to whom we give our aid as part of their military strategy to herd people around Gaza?' said Egeland. 'It's a violation of everything we stand for. It is the biggest and reddest line there is that we cannot cross.' The UN said that 47 people were injured Tuesday when hungry and desperate crowds rushed a GHF site — most of them by Israeli gunfire — while a Palestinian medical source said at least one person had died. The Israeli military denied its soldiers fired on civilians and the GHF denied any injuries or deaths. Israel has relentlessly attacked Gaza since Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel has vowed to sideline the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA, accusing it of bias and of harboring Hamas militants. UNRWA said that nine out of thousands of staff may have been involved in the October 7 attack and dismissed them, but accuses Israel of trying to throw a distraction. John Hannah, a former senior US policymaker who led a study last year that gave birth to the concepts behind the GHF, said the UN seemed to be 'completely lacking in self-reflection' on the need for a new approach to aid after Hamas built a 'terror kingdom.' 'I fear that people could be on the brink of letting the perfect be the enemy of the good instead of figuring out how do we take part in this effort, improve it, make it better, scale it up,' said Hannah, who is not involved in implementing the GHF. Hannah, a senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, defended the use of private contractors, saying that many had extensive Middle East experience from the US-led 'war on terror.' 'We would have been happy if there were volunteers from capable and trusted national forces... but the fact is, nobody's volunteering,' he said. He said he would rather that aid workers coordinate with Israel than Hamas. 'Inevitably, any humanitarian effort in a war zone has to make some compromises with a ruling authority that carries the guns,' he said. Hannah's study had discouraged a major Israeli role in humanitarian work in Gaza, urging instead involvement by Arab states to bring greater legitimacy. Arab states have balked at supporting US efforts as Israel pounds Gaza and after Trump mused about forcibly displacing the whole Gaza population and constructing luxury hotels. Israel and Hamas are negotiating a new Gaza ceasefire that could see a resumption of UN-backed efforts. Aid groups say they have vast amounts of aid ready for Gaza that remain blocked. Donnelly said the IRC had 27 tons of supplies waiting to enter Gaza, faulting the GHF for distributing items like pasta and tinned fish that require cooking supplies — not therapeutic food and treatment for malnourished children. He called for distributing relief in communities where people need it, instead of through militarized hubs. 'If anyone really cares about distributing aid in a transparent, accountable, effective way, the way to do that is to use the expertise and infrastructure of aid organizations that have been doing this for decades,' Donnelly said.
Al Jazeera
4 days ago
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Sudan reports 70 cholera deaths in Khartoum in two days
A cholera outbreak in Sudan's Khartoum has killed at least 70 people in two days, local health authorities said. The health ministry in Khartoum state reported on Thursday 942 new infections and 25 deaths the previous day, following 1,177 cases and 45 deaths the day before. The outbreak is centred around the capital city, Khartoum, which has been devastated by more than two years of war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The city lost access to water and electricity earlier this month following drone attacks blamed on the RSF. The army-backed government announced last week that it had dislodged RSF fighters from their last bases in Khartoum State, two months after retaking the heart of the capital from the paramilitaries. The city remains devastated with health and sanitation infrastructure barely functioning. According to the federal health ministry, 172 people died of cholera in the week to Tuesday – 90 percent of them in Khartoum state alone. Aid workers say the scale of the outbreak is being worsened by the near-total collapse of health services, with about 90 percent of hospitals in key war zones no longer operational. 'Sudan is on the brink of a full-scale public health disaster,' said Eatizaz Yousif, Sudan country director for the International Rescue Committee. 'The combination of conflict, displacement, destroyed infrastructure, and lack of clean water is fuelling the resurgence of cholera and other deadly diseases,' she told AFP. Since August 2024, Sudan has reported more than 65,000 suspected cholera cases and at least 1,700 deaths across 12 of its 18 states. Khartoum alone has seen 7,700 cases and 185 deaths, including more than 1,000 infections in children under five. The spread of disease is expected to worsen with the upcoming rainy season, which is likely to further restrict humanitarian access. Aid groups warn that unless urgent action is taken, the death toll could soar. According to the United Nations children's agency UNICEF, more than one million children are at risk in cholera-affected areas of Khartoum. 'We are racing against time … to provide basic healthcare, clean water and good nutrition,' said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF's representative in Sudan. 'Each day, more children are exposed to this double threat of cholera and malnutrition.' The war, now in its third year, has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 13 million and created the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis.
France 24
4 days ago
- Health
- France 24
Cholera outbreak in Sudan capital kills 70 in two days
The health ministry for Khartoum state said it recorded 942 new infections and 25 deaths on Wednesday, following 1,177 cases and 45 deaths on Tuesday. The surge in infections comes weeks after drone strikes blamed on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) knocked out the water and electricity supply across the capital. The capital has been a battleground throughout two years of war between the Sudanese army and the RSF. The army-backed government announced last week that it had dislodged RSF fighters from their last bases in Khartoum State two months after retaking the heart of the capital from the paramilitaries. The city remains devastated with health and sanitation infrastructure barely functioning. Up to 90 percent of hospitals in the conflict's main battlegrounds have been forced out of service by the fighting. The cholera outbreak has piled further pressure on the healthcare system. The federal health ministry reported 172 deaths in the week to Tuesday, 90 percent of them in Khartoum state. Authorities say 89 percent of patients in isolation centres are recovering, but warn that deteriorating environmental conditions are driving a surge in cases. Cholera is endemic to Sudan, but outbreaks have become worse and more frequent since the war broke out. - 'Brink of disaster' - Since August 2024, health authorities have recorded more than 65,000 cases and over 1,700 deaths across 12 of Sudan's 18 states. Khartoum state alone has seen more than 7,700 cases, more than 1,000 of them in children under five, and 185 deaths since January. "Sudan is on the brink of a full-scale public health disaster," the International Rescue Committee's Sudan director, Eatizaz Yousif, said. "The combination of conflict, displacement, destroyed critical infrastructure and limited access to clean water is fuelling the resurgence of cholera and other deadly diseases." Aid agencies warn that without urgent action, the spread of disease is likely to worsen with the arrival of the rainy season next month, which severely limits humanitarian access. The war between the paramilitaries and the regular army has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced 13 million since it erupted in April 2023. At least three million people fled from Khartoum state alone, but more than 34,000 have returned since its recapture by the army in recent months, according to UN figures. Most have returned to find their homes devastated by the fighting, with no access to clean water or basic services.
CNN
5 days ago
- Business
- CNN
International Rescue Committee CEO says Syria's ‘needs are huge'
International Rescue Committee CEO David Miliband discusses how new Syrian partnerships, especially with Gulf states, could help restore the country back to prosperity.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Sudan 'on brink' of health crisis with cholera outbreak
War-torn Sudan is now "on the brink" of a public health disaster as cholera and other deadly diseases spread, aid group, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has warned. In just one week, Sudan's Health Ministry recorded that 172 people have died due to a cholera outbreak, posting on Facebook that most of the new cases are in Khartoum state. According to local doctors, cited by Sudanese media, drone attacks have caused power outages at water purification stations, which has left people with no choice but to use unclean water. IRC country director for Sudan Eatizaz Yousif said the civil war - now in its thrid year - "is fuelling the resurgence of cholera". In a statement, the IRC emphasised that cholera vaccine coverage was "low" and "essential supplies dwindling". The medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has warned of reports of "thousands of suspected cholera cases" in Khartoum since the middle of last month. Its medical co-ordinator in the country, Slaymen Ammar, stated that "the conflict has clearly compromised basic infrastructure". In a press release, he said that healthcare in parts of the capital was "either unavailable or unaffordable", adding that "many of the remaining health workers had no choice but to leave" due to fighting. Mr Ammar adds that the few remaining health facilities are overwhelmed. As many as 500 cases of cholera were reported in just one day in the past week in Khartoum, MSF said. Aside from the Khartoum area, cases were also cited in northern and southern Sudan, the AFP news agency reports. Most people with cholera have mild symptoms or none at all. However, the disease can be a fatal if it causes severe diarrhoea, requiring antibiotics and IV fluids for treatment, according to the World Health Organization. More than 150,000 people have been killed during Sudan's conflict, which began over two years ago when Sudan's army and the RSF began a vicious struggle for power. Millions have been forced from their homes and the conflict has plunged the country into what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis. No water, no power - Port Sudan reeling after week of attacks Drone attacks raise stakes in new phase of Sudan's civil war WATCH: 'They ransacked my home, and left my town in ruins' Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Africa Daily Focus on Africa
