United Nations, Jan 12 (IANS): The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Tuesday released a $1.9 billion Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan for 2022.

More than $800 million will go to life-saving activities for some of the 10.9 million vulnerable people targeted out of the 14.3 million people across Sudan in need of humanitarian assistance, it said. It is estimated that half of the highly vulnerable are in the western Darfur, with others in need living in the capital of Khartoum and South Kordofan, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Sudan is experiencing increasing humanitarian needs largely driven by the economic recession that started in 2018, acute food insecurity, conflict, large-scale displacement, natural hazards, such as floods, as well as reduced social service delivery and capacity to respond to disease outbreaks, including Covid-19," OCHA said.

The plan covering many relief sectors includes essential health services, prevention and treatment of water-borne and vector-borne diseases and access to education, livelihoods, and water and sanitation.

The increasing magnitude of severity and the levels of deprivation faced by vulnerable people requires urgent early and flexible humanitarian funding, it added.

Last year, aid workers said they reached over 8.1 million people with assistance in Sudan.