The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has launched an inter-agency humanitarian hub in Farchana, eastern Chad, in collaboration with other UN agencies, to support cross-border operations responding to urgent humanitarian needs in Sudan. The hub, equipped with facilities including offices with IT services and accommodation spaces, serves as a strategic base for cross-border operations responding to the crises in Sudan, which have now displaced millions of people.

Nearly a year after the crisis began, humanitarian needs in Sudan and eastern Chad are at their highest level with shortages of food, shelter, and healthcare, coupled with increased risks of malnutrition, disease, and violence. In the Sudanese region of Darfur, nearly 9 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance according to the latest OCHA figures. Cross-border assistance serves as a lifeline to meet some of these needs by reaching the most vulnerable and affected people, like Mariam from West Darfur, who recently benefited from medical aid provided following a cross-border movement from Chad.

"These medicines mean the world to us, especially for those who struggle to buy food, let alone cover medical expenses. As an elderly woman without access to medicines for a long time, I felt forgotten and left alone. Now, with these medicines, I can save money for food. It is a relief and a blessing," she says.

Thanks to cross-border operations facilitated from Chad, IOM has already reached over 82,000 people in Sudanese Darfur with humanitarian relief including medical supplies and medicines. The new humanitarian hub in Farchana is helping to scale up this assistance and enables IOM to cover humanitarian assistance for over 220,000 people in the coming months with more relief supplies.

"The growing humanitarian needs in Sudan and neighboring countries require all of us to be more agile and flexible in our operations to ensure the continued delivery of vital humanitarian assistance," says Pascal Reyntjens, IOM Chief of Mission in Chad. "We are proud to lead this initiative which demonstrates our collective commitment to not leave people affected by this crisis behind," he added.

The humanitarian hub in Farchana was established with the support of the governments of Luxembourg and France, as well as the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency through the International Humanitarian Partnership (IHP) mechanism. Globally, under the IHP, IOM manages 17 inter-agency humanitarian hubs in four countries, with a total capacity exceeding 1,660 people for office and accommodation spaces. These hubs in the Central African Republic, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Yemen play a crucial role in facilitating coordinated responses to humanitarian crises.