YAOUNDE, May 30 (Xinhua) -- United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Tuesday that it is facing a funding shortfall to address the humanitarian needs of Sudanese refugees in Chad.
Nearly 185,000 Sudanese have crossed the border into Chad and continue to await relocation from dangerous border areas, particularly in the Adre border town of the Central African country, UNHCR said in a statement.
"The first rains have started in Adre. It is an expected but devastating news as tens of thousands of Sudanese refugees still do not have suitable shelter to protect themselves from the impending rainy season. In Chad, rains often bring catastrophic flooding, render roads impassable and limit humanitarian access," the statement quoted Laura Lo Castro, UNHCR representative in Chad, as saying, stressing that an additional 17 million U.S. dollars is urgently needed to relocate and accommodate 50,000 refugees in the area.
"We call on the generosity of our donors to urgently cover the most critical gaps to protect and save lives," Castro added.
Since April 2023, the conflict in Sudan has forced nearly 600,000 people to flee to Chad.
Overall, the United Nations and its partners require 630.2 million dollars to respond to the urgent needs of Sudanese crossing the border, but only 6 percent have been secured so far, the statement added. ■