WFP dispatches over 700 trucks to famine-stricken areas in Sudan
Sudan, Omdurman, Khartoum State, 27 May 2023 In the photo: food distributions started in Khartoum State, in Omdurman following successful access negotiations. This first distribution will support around 10,000 people. WFP is ramping up assistance in the war-torn capital to support half a million people, if security and access allows.
The World Food Program (WFP) has mobilized more than 700 trucks loaded with essential food aid to famine-hit regions of Sudan, following clearance from the Sudanese government.
This was disclosed by the WFP Sudan spokesperson Leni Kinzli during a press briefing in Geneva on Tuesday.
The ongoing conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which erupted in April 2023, has led to widespread hunger and disease. Both sides have been accused of obstructing humanitarian aid, with reports of looting by the RSF and bureaucratic delays caused by the army.
The trucks are carrying approximately 17,500 tons of food aid, sufficient to sustain 1.5 million people for a month. Kinzli highlighted that the Sudanese government’s Humanitarian Aid Commission has approved the clearances needed to transport assistance to hard-to-reach areas. The start of the dry season has also facilitated this scale-up in operations.
A second convoy en route to Zamzam camp is currently about 300 kilometers (186 miles) away. The WFP is tagging its fleet clearly to ensure safe access as it ramps up efforts to deliver aid to those most in need.
This initiative marks a critical effort to combat famine in Sudan amid one of the country’s most devastating humanitarian crises in recent history.
