Huge UN food caravan en route to Sudan
Date
11/30/2024 12:57:33 PM
(MENAFN) The UN World Food Program (WFP) announced on Tuesday that more than 700 trucks carrying food aid have been dispatched to regions of Sudan facing severe famine. Sudan’s Sovereign Council leader, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, confirmed on Monday that airports in El Obeid, Kadugli, and Damazine, previously inaccessible due to the ongoing conflict, would now serve as humanitarian hubs to facilitate aid distribution.
The food convoy, which will deliver around 17,500 tons of assistance—enough to feed 1.5 million people for a month—will reach 14 regions affected by or at risk of famine, WFP spokesperson Leni Kinzli stated in Geneva. The UN has received about 700 clearances from Sudan's Humanitarian Aid Commission to begin transporting aid to these hard-to-reach areas.
Last week, aid reached the Zamzam camp in North Darfur, marking a significant breakthrough for an area that had been cut off from assistance for months. While the aid represents only a fraction of what is needed, Kinzli emphasized that these trucks bring much-needed hope to those stranded without help.
Since September, the WFP has been reaching an average of 2 million people per month across Sudan, though the crisis remains dire. The conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which erupted in April 2023, has spread across 13 of Sudan's 18 states, leaving 26 million people facing acute hunger, according to UN estimates. Vulnerable groups, including 4.7 million children under five and pregnant or breastfeeding women, are experiencing severe malnutrition, with the UN calling the situation one of the world’s worst humanitarian emergencies.
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