WFP plans to 'immediately' reach 380,000 vulnerable people in Sudan

The World Food Program (WFP) announced on Tuesday that it plans to “immediately” reach 380,000 people of the most vulnerable groups in Sudan, Anadolu news agency reported.

WFP Sudan told Anadolu in a statement that the agency remains committed to supporting the most vulnerable people in Sudan, even after the recent looting of its main offices.

The agency said it has reached over 35,000 people in three states namely Gedaref, White Nile, and Kassala with two-months worth of emergency food assistance, including refugees and internally displaced persons, since the temporary suspension was lifted last week.

War in Sudan, war in Ukraine = international double-standard – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]

“We have every intention to continuing our life-saving work and are planning to reach over 380,000 people immediately,” it said. “Further to that, we are scaling up our operations over the coming months to support nearly 5 million vulnerable people across Sudan including newly displaced, vulnerable host communities, and pre-existing refugees and IDPs (internally displaced persons).”

On Friday, the WFP country director in Sudan, Eddie Rowe, said in press statements that about 17,000 tons of food aid worth between 13 and 14 million US dollars had been looted.

The WFP expects the number of people suffering from severe food insecurity in Sudan to increase by about 2.5 million people, bringing the total number of people in need to 19 million within a period ranging between 3 and 6 months, if the conflict continues.

On 15 April, fighting erupted between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum and its surroundings.

READ: Sudan deepens crisis in Africa as UN sees 5 million more needing aid

A disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the Sudanese army and RSF over RSF’s integration into the armed forces, a key condition of Sudan’s transition agreement with political groups.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since October 2021, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government and declared a state of emergency in a move decried by political forces as a “coup.”

Sudan’s transitional period, which started in August 2019 after the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir, had been scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.