The UN World Food Programme (WFP) on Monday warned that food stocks in Sudan could run out in one month because of a severe funding shortfall…reports Asian Lite News
“Limited resources have been prioritised to ensure that the needs of the most vulnerable people in Sudan are met but even with this prioritisation exercise, food stocks and cash are expected to run out starting April across the country,” Xinhua news agency reported citing Eddie Rowe’s, WFP representative and country director in Sudan, press release.
“A major funding shortfall of $285 million for the next six months (March-August 2022) is jeopardising operations and lives,” he said, adding “without new funds, WFP may have no choice but to make further cuts and the impact could be devastating.”
The WFP is running a general food assistance programme for around 362,000 refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sudan’s Darfur region using cash-based transfers.
Nutrition programmes for malnourished children and pregnant and nursing mothers as well as school meals programmes have now resumed in the region, through which WFP aims to reach 122,600 people with nutrition support and 321,000 school children with school meals this year, according to the press release.
On January 11, the UN Office for Coordination and Humanitarian Affairs launched the Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan for 2022.
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The plan aimed to provide humanitarian assistance to 10.9 million vulnerable people across Sudan at a cost of $1.9 billion. More than $800 million will go to life-saving activities.
However, the international response was disrupted after the General Commander of the Sudanese Army Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan declared a state of emergency on October 25, 2021 and dissolved the Sovereign Council and the government.