Kosti — A joint meeting was held at the Secretariat-General of the White Nile State Government in Rarbak on Tuesday evening between the state government headed by the acting Governor of the White Nile State, Omer Al-Khalifa Abdullah, and the delegation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees headed by the High Commissioner for Refugee Affairs in Sudan, Kristine Hambrouck.

The meeting discussed the overall humanitarian situation of refugees, displaced persons, and newcomers in the state.

The Wali of White Nile State said that the state received large numbers of newcomers from all the states of the country affected by the war, in addition to hosted South Sudanese refugees residing in camps in Al-Salam and Al-Jabalin localities.

The Wali of White Nile State presented a detailed report on the overall humanitarian conditions in the shelter centers, and on the newcomers residing with families in the villages and cities of the state, reviewing the state's requirements in terms of food, shelter, cash support, and preventive and curative health.

Abdullah stressed that basic services, in all localities of the state, were affected by the large numbers of newcomers and refugees, who numbered more than 2.5 million people, adding that this number exceeded the actual population of the state, a matter requires the necessity urgent interventions for humanitarian aid and to address the educational process that was disrupted due to the existence of displaced persons in more than 438 schools, which are being used as shelters, a matter that led to the suspension of the educational process.

For her part, the High Commissioner for Refugees in Sudan, Kristine Hambourck, praised the efforts of the White Nile State government in rendering services to the displaced persons and refugees from South Sudan, "The aim of the visit is to know the actual needs for humanitarian aid," She said, noting that the convoy that it delivered to the state's hospitals came as an extension of the chain of continued support from the United Nations High Commissioner for the displaced people and Refugees with the aim of strengthening the health sector in the state. BH/BH