Shaheed El Hafed (Refugee Camps), 18 March 2024 (SPS) - The Consortium of NGOs supporting the Saharawi refugee population for nearly five decades, has alerted about the ongoing degradation of the humanitarian situation, which is directly impacting over 173,600 persons.
In a statement released Sunday, Consortium of NGOs supporting the Saharawi refugee population called on the international community to mobilize resources to alleviate the situation and make this protracted and forgotten humanitarian crisis more visible.
Here is the full text of the statement:
“The Consortium of NGOs supporting the Saharawi refugee population in Tindouf camps (Algeria) for nearly five decades, alerts about the ongoing degradation of the humanitarian situation, which is directly impacting over 173,600 persons.
The 30% reduction of emergency food rations distributed by the World Food Programme (WFP) since November 2023 is affecting tens of thousands of refugee families who rely exclusively on these rations for their sustenance, besides the absence of other sources of income in an arid desert area and extreme climatic conditions.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have led to an exceptional increase in food prices on the international market, leaving the humanitarian actors unable to adequately respond to the essential needs of the most vulnerable groups. The latest nutritional surveys1 carried out by the World Food Programme and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have shown a deterioration in nutritional indicators, particularly the anemia rates among pregnant and breastfeeding women and stunting in children under five, which is threatening the progress achieved up until 2020.
The lingering uncertainty surrounding food distributions from June 2024 onwards raises concerns for both the refugee community and the NGOs operating on the ground within the population.
Furthermore, the proliferation of crises worldwide has exerted a notable impact on the funding of programs by humanitarian agencies. In 2024, the UNHCR faced a 20% reduction in funding across all essential sectors, encompassing health, water, and education.
The consortium of NGOs reiterates its 2022 appeal to the international community, stakeholders, donors, and cooperation agencies. We urge a coordinated and substantial response to the Sahrawi refugees' food emergency, emphasizing the mobilization of resources and heightened visibility for addressing this protracted humanitarian crisis, often ignored by international media.
The NGOs, members of the Consortium, subscribing to this appeal, are the following:
Asociación de Amistad con el Pueblo Saharaui de Sevilla (AAPSS) - Associacions Catalanes Amigues del Poble Saharaui (ACAPS) - Association Femmes, Action, Développement (AFAD) - Asociación Navarra de Amigos de la R.A.S.D (ANARASD) - Asociación de Trabajadores y Técnicos sin Fronteras (ATTsF) - Centro de Estudios Rurales y de Agricultura International (CERAI) - Comitato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo dei Popoli (CISP) - Danish Refugee Council (DRC) - Médicos del Mundo (MdM) - Medicus Mundi Mediterrània (MMmed) - Movimiento por la Paz, el Desarme y la Libertad (MPDL) - Fundación Mundubat (Mundubat) - Ojos del Mundo - Oxfam International - Solidaridad Internacional-Andalucía (SI-A) - Triangle Génération Humanitaire (TGH).
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