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Darfur

Darfur

The Darfur crisis is now almost four years old, yet the level of suffering and humanitarian need continues on an almost unimaginable scale. More than 2 million people have been forced to flee their homes and are living in makeshift shelters in crowded camps or massed on the edge of towns and villages, both in Darfur and across the border in eastern Chad. Around 4 million have been affected by the conflict and are now dependent on humanitarian assistance.

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Oxfam is there

We are providing vital assistance to more than 500,000 people affected by the crisis, both in Darfur and eastern Chad. We provide access to clean, safe water and sanitation as well as basic necessities such as blankets, soap and jerry cans for carrying water. We carry out public health education programmes to try and prevent the spread of disease; and, as the crisis continues, we are implementing projects to provide livelihood opportunities to help people find some alternative to the reliance on external aid.

The current situation

It is nearly four years since the start of the Darfur crisis. Today the situation is as desperate as ever. The sheer scale of suffering is incredible:

  • Over 2 million people - nearly one in three in Darfur - have had to flee their homes and are sheltering in camps for Internally Displaced People (IDPs)
  • A further 230,000 refugees from Darfur are in camps over the border in neighbouring Chad
  • Up to 4 million people - more than half Darfur's entire population, or the equivalent of Irelands population - are now reliant on humanitarian aid
  • As the conflict increasingly spills over into Chad, the number of Chadian people displaced by violence has quadrupled in the past 10 months to 120,000

Latest update: July 2007

Volunteer stories from Oxfam field worker Jane Beesley

Diary from Oxfam field worker Jane Beesley

Latest facts & figures from Darfur

See a map of where Oxfam is working in Darfur

Reports & Stories from Darfur