60 million dollars in losses for relief organizations in Sudan… and a humanitarian catastrophe looms on the horizon
With the escalation of fighting between the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces and the army in the second month, the World Food Programme stated that less than 1% of aid has reached the people in Khartoum.
Abdul Majid Yahya, the director of the World Food Programme in the United Arab Emirates and representative of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, said that the lack of access to Sudan is “unprecedented” compared to other war-torn areas in the region.
He continued, “We planned to reach 500,000 people, but we have only been able to reach 15,000 so far in Khartoum.”
Humanitarian work suspended
According to the international newspaper “The National,” three employees of the World Food Programme were killed and two were injured when the war broke out on April 15, prompting the group to suspend its operations in the Darfur region of Sudan for two weeks. The World Food Programme says it has assisted over 780,000 people so far by providing emergency food in 13 out of the country’s 18 states since operations resumed on May 3.
He explained that “at least when ISIS besieged the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor completely in 2017, we were able to conduct high-altitude airdrops,” which is not possible in Khartoum today.
Yahya said that many ceasefire agreements have been repeatedly violated since they were signed, adding that “the needs are constantly increasing.”
Yahya added that the humanitarian corridors agreed upon by the warring parties through the ceasefire mediated by the United States and Saudi Arabia provided the only opportunity for the limited aid to reach its destination.
He pointed out that the reason behind this is the security situation in Sudan, saying, “Some neighborhoods show no signs of life,” and millions have fled their homes and become internally displaced or sought refuge in Chad, Egypt, and the Central African Republic. In addition to this, the warehouses of the program have been looted on multiple occasions.
“In total, we lost $60 million worth of foodstuffs, vehicles and assets, except for last week in El Obeid,” Yahya said. “About 17,600 metric tons were taken in the first looting, now 22,000 metric tons are being looted and we don’t know the value of that because we don’t have access,” he said, adding, “It was difficult to ascertain which groups are responsible for the thefts”.
Crisis exacerbation
The international newspaper mentioned that the food taken in the first looting round was sufficient to feed 4.4 million people for a month, and Yahya said, “Two weeks ago, they raided our offices in Khartoum and seized vehicles and office supplies.”
He said that the rising prices of food and the fact that banks are not operating have worsened the situation for people who were already struggling to find food, adding that it is only a matter of time before fuel runs out.
Yahya revealed that local neighborhood groups are assisting in the distribution of aid from the World Food Programme, saying, “They move from house to house at times, and they even cook in one house and distribute those meals to the needy.”
The Sudanese Ministry of Health stated that at least 700 people have been killed and more than 5,420 have been injured in the conflict.
The World Food Programme stated that 2.5 million people need assistance in Sudan, in addition to one million people before the war.
