WFP Resumes Aid to Darfur, Warns of Worsening Crisis Without Consistent Aid Flows

Summary:

• The UN World Food Programme has resumed aid deliveries to Darfur, reaching 250,000 people facing severe hunger. However, it warns of a worsening crisis unless consistent aid flows are maintained via all possible routes, amidst ongoing conflict and bureaucratic hurdles.

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The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has initiated its first food and nutrition assistance operation in Darfur in months, extending aid to 250,000 individuals grappling with severe hunger. Nevertheless, the agency has sounded a stark warning, highlighting the potential exacerbation of the hunger crisis in Sudan unless aid channels remain consistently open via all feasible pathways, including cross-border corridors and amidst conflict zones.

Late in March, two convoys originating from Chad successfully reached North, West, and Central Darfur, marking the resumption of cross-border corridors after an extended period of closure. This hiatus, coupled with ongoing hostilities, bureaucratic impediments, and security risks, had severely impeded humanitarian endeavors.

Eddie Rowe, the WFP Representative and Country Director in Sudan, emphasized the urgent need for uninterrupted aid deliveries through all accessible routes. He expressed deep concern over the looming threat of unprecedented levels of starvation and malnutrition during the imminent lean season, slated to commence in a matter of weeks.

While food distribution operations are underway in West and Central Darfur, the WFP faces uncertainty regarding the next consignment via the critical Chad-West Darfur route. This corridor had been heavily relied upon by the WFP last year to support one million individuals.

Notably, North Darfur also received its first aid consignment in six months, sourced from both Chad and Port Sudan. However, distribution efforts are being hampered by fierce clashes and delays attributable to conflicting parties.

Rowe underscored the indispensability of security assurances to reach the populations in dire need. He particularly emphasized the significance of cross-border operations originating from Chad, pointing out that some children are already succumbing to malnutrition. The uninterrupted functioning of all corridors, particularly the Chad-West Darfur route, is imperative to address the alarming levels of hunger.

Against the backdrop of 18 million people confronting acute hunger nationwide, with 1.7 million in Darfur reaching emergency levels, the WFP has called upon all involved parties in the conflict to prioritize the unhindered flow of humanitarian aid and forestall further catastrophe.

(BE)

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