CONFIDENTIAL
ANNEX V
REFUGEES IN THE SUDAN
1. The long drawn-out bitter civil war in Eritrea and the recent upheavals in Ethiopia have resulted in large influxes of refugees into the Sudan. According to a UNHCR estimate of April 1978, there were some 250,000 (compared with 150,000 in August 1977) refugees in the Sudan, mostly Ethiopian of whom many are Eritrean, Most are in camps and settlements near the Ethiopian border but some are in Khartoum. A considerable number of these refugees managed to integrate without UNHCR assistance. Sudan is itself poor and relatively under-developed; however the Sudanese authorities are well-intentioned towards the refugees and doing their best to assist them.
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2. The UNHCR has been helping the Sudanese Government to channel aid to the refugees, providing not only food and shelter, but also assistance towards making refugee settlements self-sufficient. Implementation of various projects has been very slow for several reasons the reluctance of refugees to move away from the border area and for other technical reasons with the result that funds committeed had not been fully spent. The total UNHCR budget for Sudan next year amounts to just over US$ 2,246,500 (almost a million dollars less than last year despite the increased numbers of refugees). The World Food Programme is the major supplier of food to the refugees.
3. Apart from earlier relief supplies sent by the UK, the ODM Disaster Unit provided £75,000 for vehicles, blankets, tents and medical supplies to assist the refugees. HMG are also contributing indirectly through the EEC, which has provided foodstuffs.
/ANNEX VI
CONFIDENTIAL
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