US donates $86m in aid to Sudan

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) cash and in-kind donations worth $86 million for Sudan, it was announced yesterday.

WFP said in a statement: “The in-kind contribution of mixed food items worth $75 million will meet the food needs of more than two million people, including displaced people, school children and vulnerable households in Darfur and central and eastern Sudan, for up to five months.”

Adding: “The complementary cash contribution of $11 million will allow WFP to provide cash and vouchers assistance to almost half a million people across Darfur, for up to four months. Part of the funds will also be used to buy 103 metric tonnes of specialised nutritious foods for the prevention of malnutrition among 37,000 displaced children and pregnant and nursing mothers across the three states.”

It pointed out that the United States is the largest single donor to WFP Sudan, contributing up to 45 per cent of the organisation’s operational requirements in the country.

“The United States has provided more than $170 million in food assistance to the Sudanese people since January 2015.”

WFP Sudan Representative and Country Director, Adnan Khan said: “this combination of cash and in-kind food contribution gives us the flexibility we need to offer the most appropriate form of assistance to all those we support in a timely and efficient manner.”

As many as 21 United Nations humanitarian organisations operate in Sudan since 1963 along with some 104 other foreign organisations.