Sudan Archives - World Food Program USA

KHARTOUM – For the first time in ten years, United Nations humanitarian agencies have been able to access conflict-affected communities in the five non-governmental areas controlled by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) El Hilu in South Kordofan and Blue Niles states of Sudan.

A series of humanitarian missions to the five isolated enclaves has concluded, just as renewed peace talks between the Government of Sudan and SPLM-N are ongoing in Juba, South Sudan. These five areas have largely been cut off from support over the last decade and the missions’ findings indicate people are in dire need of improved food security, education, health and water and sanitation services.

“This response marks a significant breakthrough in humanitarian access and response to conflict-affected communities previously unreached by UN humanitarian assistance. We commend the local efforts to support essential needs during the years of hardship. The humanitarian community in Sudan is calling for increased access and critically needed assistance to support these marginalized communities,” said Khardiata Lo N’diaye, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General and Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan.

United Nations humanitarian agencies have not been able to reach or provide life-saving assistance to support people in the five locations since 2011, when conflict broke out between the Government of Sudan and the SPLM-N. Gaining humanitarian access to these communities provides a critical opportunity to improve lives and rebuild livelihoods.

“Communities in these areas have been struggling and surviving on little or nothing for a decade. Access for humanitarian agencies so they can increase their assistance to these vulnerable communities is critical. With improved food security and other opportunities, families will be able to reintegrate with the rest of Sudan and start to recover and rebuild,” said Eddie Rowe, United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Country Director in Sudan.

The U.N. World Food Programme delivered 220,462 pounds of nutritious biscuits for 25,000 school children in 83 schools on the five missions. This was the first assistance that people in these isolated areas had received from the UN in the last decade due to conflict and access constraints. A lack of food for students is one of the main challenges in maintaining school enrolment in these isolated areas. Providing school meals is among the top priorities for the U.N. World Food Programme’s response as access continues to open.

“Whilst these missions mark a major development, we need to ensure that humanitarian access to children and communities in need is always granted. No conditions should ever be set on access; humanitarian assistance should be provided at all times and from all places to those that need it. Findings from this mission are bleak. These children have been entirely ‘left behind.’ We have to act now to ensure these children have a future. Collectively, efforts must be made to ensure access and sustain and scale up assistance,” said Abdullah Fadil, UNICEF Representative in Sudan.

Expanding humanitarian access to SPLM-N controlled enclaves is crucial to providing urgent assistance to an estimated 800,000 people in these areas, who desperately need relief following years of isolation. Ramping up support will help stabilize communities and pave the path for peacebuilding efforts, while reinforcing the UN’s commitment to assist marginalized populations in Sudan.

The U.N. World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) participated in missions over the last six weeks to five isolated areas in SPLM-N El Hilu controlled areas including Zozak and Amora in Blue Nile State and Kau/Nyaro, Rashad/New Tegali and Western Jebels in South Kordofan State.

JUBA – United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director David Beasley today congratulated leaders of Sudan and one of the country’s rebel groups for agreeing to principles to resolve their conflict including that freedom of religion would be guaranteed to all Sudanese in a civil, democratic federal state.

“It’s a great day, a day of peace,” Beasley said. “But peace is not made on paper. Peace is made in the heart. And these leaders have come together around the power of the heart. This spirit is the spirit that will carry forward South Sudan and Sudan to a great future for all the children will be blessed because the leaders this day are peacemakers.”

“At the U.N. World Food Programme, we use food as a weapon of peace. And at the United Nations, we’re grateful for the leadership and the support of everyone here,” he told a meeting of the two parties in the South Sudan capital of Juba.

“I look to the day that we (the U.N. World Food Programme) are no longer here because South Sudan and Sudan are not only feeding their own people, but they are feeding all of Africa and the rest of the world,” Beasley said. “But that can’t happen without the building blocks of peace.”

As part of the principles as the basis for resolving the conflict in Sudan, the government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) agreed on the establishment of a civil, democratic federal state in Sudan where freedom of religion would be guaranteed to all Sudanese and the country should have a single professional national army committed to protecting national security.

Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan the Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council of the Republic of Sudan signed the agreement on Sunday in Juba with Abdelaziz Adam al-Hilu, chairman of SPLM-N. The pact was witnessed by South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit and Beasley.

Beasley and Sudan Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok visited the Nuba Mountains in Sudan in January 2020 on a confidence building mission and were received by SPLM-N leader Al-Hilu. Beasley used his good offices to facilitate the first visit of Sudanese officials to non-government-controlled areas in South Kordofan in more than nine years.

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The United Nations World Food Programme is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. We are the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

KHARTOUM – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is calling for $24.6 million to meet the immediate needs of Ethiopian refugees seeking safety in Sudan. The conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia that escalated on November 4 has forced more than 30,000 Ethiopians to flee across the border into Sudan.

“We were in our town, doing our jobs, when we heard a huge explosion and started to flee to the Sudanese border. The event was abrupt, and no one even has money in their pockets. Many departed from their families and now they don’t know where they are,” said Dejen Fantay, a 25-year-old refugee in Um Rakuba Camp in Gedaref State.

“I want to thank the Sudanese Government, local authorities, the U.N. World Food Programme and other organizations helping to support us to survive here,” he added.”

As of 19 November, UNHCR estimates that over 31,000 people had arrived in Sudan and were in urgent need of food and other support. People continue to stream into the country every day from Ethiopia, and estimates suggest that up to 200,000 people could take refuge in eastern Sudan in the coming six months if instability in Tigray continues.

“The humanitarian situation on the border between Ethiopia and Sudan is quickly deteriorating and is extremely urgent. The U.N. World Food Programme is playing a critical role in providing food and logistics support together with UN agencies, the Sudanese Government and local partners,” said Dr. Hameed Nuru, U.N. World Food Programme Representative and Country Director in Sudan.

“All actors need to step up to respond to this dire situation. We appeal to donors to give generously, so that we can save lives in this crisis,” he added.

The U.N. World Food Programme is providing hot meals for refugees arriving at reception centers. Where cooking facilities are not available, the U.N. World Food Programme supplies fortified high-energy biscuits. Once refugees reach the camps after passing through reception centers, they receive rations including lentils, sorghum, oil and salt.

The U.N. World Food Programme is also providing logistics support to the humanitarian community – establishing supply hubs for the storage of food and other vital humanitarian assistance. The U.N. World Food Programme is also playing a critical role in transporting humanitarian responders to the affected areas on the U.N. World Food Programme-managed UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS).

The U.N. World Food Programme has rapidly dispatched enough food supplies to feed 60,000 people for one month. However, the food had to be borrowed from existing program. The influx of new arrivals will strain the U.N. World Food Programme’s ability to respond to existing needs in Sudan as it deals with multiple crises throughout the country.

The U.N. World Food Programme faces a shortfall of $153 million over the next six months for its operation to meet the food needs of the most vulnerable in Sudan, including $20 million to provide food and nutrition assistance to arriving Ethiopian refugees, $3.8 million to increase the number of UNHAS flights to eastern Sudan, and $750,000 for road repairs to allow responders to reach remote and inaccessible areas where refugees are arriving.

The additional funding is essential to ensure that food insecure people, who are at their most vulnerable, can receive continuous support over the next six months.

Broadcast quality footage is available here, photos available here.

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Shaza Moghraby, WFP/New York, Mob. + 1 929 289 9867, shaza.moghraby@wfp.org
Steve Taravella, WFP/ Washington, Mob. +1 202 770 5993, steve.taravella@wfp.org

Khartoum – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today joins its sister agencies in calling for global action to improve the systems that produce and distribute the food we eat, so that they can better withstand shocks including the COVID-19 pandemic that can spark alarming surges in the level of hunger in the world.

In many countries, including Sudan, the socio-economic effects of the pandemic – particularly loss of earnings and remittances – are heightening existing threats linked to conflict and climate change. The number of acutely hungry people in the world could increase by more than 100 million this year, according to U.N. World Food Programme estimates. For particularly fragile countries, a slide towards famine is a real risk.

“‘The world produces enough food for everyone so it’s a problem not of scarcity but of access to nutritious and affordable food,” said U.N. World Food Programme Executive Director David Beasley, “Small-scale farmers in developing nations need support so they can grow crops in a more sustainable way, then store and transport their produce to markets, and ultimately improve their own livelihoods. When food moves from the farm, along the supply chain and onto people’s plates in a fair and efficient way, then everyone benefits.”

The U.N. World Food Programme, which last week won the Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to fight hunger, has unparalleled experience in buying and distributing food. Every year, the U.N. World Food Programme increases the amount of food it procures locally from small-scale farmers, providing training in post-harvest storage and in how to access markets. The aim is to build dynamic food systems which contribute to community-based agricultural growth and the strengthening of national economies.

The need for concerted action to improve agricultural production while enhancing global supply chains and ending food waste is captured in this year’s World Food Day theme: “Grow, Nourish, Sustain. Together.” The three Rome-based agencies – the U.N. World Food Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) – are calling for sustainable investment in food systems to achieve healthy diets for all. Without massive improvements in the food supply chain, many fragile nations are set to become increasingly vulnerable to financial volatility and climate shocks.

In Sudan, food insecurity remains alarmingly high with some 9.6 million people estimated to be food insecure. This is the highest figure ever recorded in Sudan. Sudan has also witnessed historic flooding in recent months that has devastated homes, destroyed vast swaths of farmlands and crops, and affected more than 875,000 people.

The economic crisis and inflation are also posing challenges to food security in Sudan. The average price of the local food basket has increased by nearly 200 per cent compared to 2019, making it even harder for families to put food on their plates.

“Combined, these multiple crises can further increase food insecurity and risk pushing millions of people into poverty. But if we take concerted action now, we can build a future we want – a world free of hunger. We remain committed to working with all our partners in Sudan, including the Government, to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030,” said U.N. World Food Programme Representative and Country Director in Sudan Dr. Hameed Nuru.

No one government or organization can achieve these goals alone. More than ever, there is a need for global solidarity to help all people, and especially the most vulnerable, to confront the crises facing the planet – multiple conflicts, climate change and COVID-19.

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The U.N. World Food Programme is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. We are the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

For more information, contact:

Leni Kinzli, WFP/Khartoum, Tel: +249 912002000, Ext 2125, Mobile: +249 91 722 1269, leni.kinzli@wfp.org
Abdulaziz Abdulmomin, WFP/Khartoum, Tel: +249912002000, Ext 2123, Mobile: +249 91 216 7055, abdulaziz.abdulmomin@wfp.org

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is scaling up emergency food assistance to reach nearly 160,000 people across Sudan following floods that ravaged 17 of the country’s 18 states.

“Rains and floods have been much worse than anyone could have anticipated, causing a national disaster,” said WFP Representative and Country Director in Sudan, Hameed Nuru. “People have lost their homes, farmlands, schools and loved ones. Some of these people have lost everything.”

The flooding is the worst Sudan has seen in nearly a century. According to the Government’s Humanitarian Aid Commission, 650,000 people have been affected since the start of the rains in mid-July.

The U.N. World Food Programme provided a first round of emergency food assistance to 7,200 people and distributions for 40,000 people are currently ongoing. “WFP is working tirelessly with the Government of Sudan and partners to get food out to the affected people. Together, we are trying to scale up the number of people reached every day,” he added.

The U.N. World Food Programme is planning to distribute two-week rations to flood-affected people in Khartoum, East and North Darfur, White Nile, North and West Kordofan, Red Sea, Sennar and Kassala. As more assessments are underway, the number of flood-affected people requiring food assistance is likely to increase.

With the heavy rains making access to affected areas difficult, the U.N. World Food Programme has facilitated rapid needs assessments and delivery of assistance using the U.N. World Food Programme-managed UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS). Since the start of flood season, the U.N. World Food Programme has participated in some 20 assessment missions to guide interventions and identify people who are most in need. The U.N. World Food Programme has transported three metric tons of food supplies provided by the government to flood-affected people in Bout town in Blue Nile state.

The devastating floods come at a time when hunger levels remain alarmingly high in Sudan with increased and protracted displacement, economic decline and inflation, and high food price hikes, exacerbated by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 outbreak, the U.N. World Food Programme continues to provide emergency food assistance to ensure critical support reach the people in need.

“WFP is also working to implement all necessary precautions during distributions to minimize the risk of contacting or spreading COVID-19 and ensure the safety of staff and the people we serve,” Nuru said.

The U.N. World Food Programme’s flood response to date has been made possible by the generosity of donors, including German Federal Foreign Office, the United Kingdom’s Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office, and the United States Agency for International Development.

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The U.N. World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies, building prosperity and supporting a sustainable future for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change. | Follow us on Twitter @WFPUSA @wfp_media @WFP_Sudan

Contact:

Shaza Moghraby, WFP/New York, Mob. + 1 929 289 9867
Steve Taravella, WFP/ Washington, Mob. +1 202 770 5993

KHARTOUM – The Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) David Beasley, today concluded a two-day visit to Sudan where he met leaders of the new government and traveled to Kosti to send off the first three barges to carry humanitarian food supplies down the River Nile to South Sudan since 2011.

“This is a new dawn for Sudan, a Sudan that can positively impact the future of the whole region,” said David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme after meeting the Sudanese Prime Minister, Abdalla Hamdok. “WFP has been a long-time partner to the Sudanese people, and we’re ready to support the government and the people during this historic moment.”

On his visit to Kosti, Beasley saw the three WFP-contracted barges loading 4,500 tons of food procured locally in Sudan. They then sailed upriver to the South Sudanese towns of Renk, Malakal and Bor. These food supplies are enough to feed 370,000 people for one month. River transport of humanitarian goods between Sudan and South Sudan largely stopped when the border closed after South Sudan’s independence in 2011.

The resumption of river transport was made possible by collaboration between the two governments and a recognition by all parties that the transport of humanitarian assistance is vital to conflict-affected civilians in South Sudan.

Transporting goods up the Nile is cost-effective and provides an alternative to road transport between the two countries – important in the rainy season when roads can become blocked.

WFP has delivered a total of 265,000 tons of humanitarian assistance across land borders to South Sudan since 2014.

This was David Beasley’s second visit to the country since he assumed leadership of WFP in April 2017. During his visit, Beasley also met the Chairman of the Sovereign Council, Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan; Deputy Chairman of the Sudan Sovereign Council, Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Hemeti; and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Labour and Social Development and the Deputy Minister of Finance where he discussed Sudan’s historic transition and the need to expand humanitarian access across the country.

The United Nations World Food Programme – saving lives in emergencies and changing lives for millions through sustainable development. WFP works in more than 80 countries around the world, feeding people caught in conflict and disasters, and laying the foundations for a better future.

For more information please contact (email address: firstname.lastname@wfp.org):

Abeer Etefa, WFP/Cairo (on mission to Sudan), Mob. +201066634352
Belinda Popovska, WFP/Khartoum, Tel. +249 9 1200 2000 (ext. 2125), Mob. +249 912158413
Abdulaziz Abdulmomin, WFP/Khartoum, Tel. +249 183248001 (ext. 2123), Mob. +249 912167055
David Orr, WFP/Rome, Tel. +39 06 6513 3179, Mob. +39 340 246 6831