New York - Khartoum - Cairo: Europe and the Arabs
  The World Food Program launched an emergency cash assistance program to support vulnerable people fleeing the conflict in Sudan to Egypt. According to the United Nations news bulletin, a copy of which we received via e-mail this morning.
In a statement released on Monday, WFP said it had conducted a rapid assessment with its partners to identify the most vulnerable arrivals who needed assistance that would enable them to access food and other basic needs.
“They are exhausted by the journey they have had to take with their families to reach safety, and they are extremely food insecure,” said Praveen Agrawal, WFP Representative and Country Director in Egypt. “In this time of great uncertainty, cash assistance contributes to Securing their basic needs. WFP will provide its platform to channel funds to sister UN agencies, such as the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and other development partners, to enable them to quickly reach vulnerable families in need of support."
The World Food Program is already supporting more than one hundred thousand refugees in Egypt through its existing cash-delivery platform. The cash assistance will be provided to the new arrivals in addition to the ready-to-eat emergency food parcels they received upon their arrival.
The World Food Program is coordinating with the Egyptian government and the Egyptian Red Crescent to provide assistance, and has so far sent enough food aid to about 90,000 people.
According to the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, some 88,000 people crossed the Sudanese-Egyptian border as of 11 May, including about 5,000 Egyptians and nationals of other countries.
Egypt was already hosting more than 60,000 Sudanese refugees before the current crisis, and the World Food Program says it was providing monthly cash assistance and long-term support to the most vulnerable of them, as the number of beneficiaries reached ten thousand people, to help them secure their basic food needs.
It is noteworthy that refugees receive monthly cash assistance through electronic cards that can be used at more than 140,000 points of sale across the country.
A month after the start of the fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that more than 936,000 people have fled their homes due to violence, including about 736,000 internally displaced persons and 200,000 people who have sought refuge in neighboring countries.
The office stressed that the conflict that broke out on April 15th threatens the main planting season in the country, while the prices of basic commodities are skyrocketing, which has increased the risk of food insecurity in the coming period.
A factory in Khartoum producing vital supplies to treat malnourished children was burned down.
OCHA indicated that humanitarian partners are providing aid to those affected by the clashes, including food, therapeutic feeding, and safe learning spaces.
In this regard, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the fighting had "caused a heavy toll" on civilians in the country. He noted that the World Food Program is stepping up its assistance to people fleeing the violence, including those newly displaced from the fighting in the capital, Khartoum. He also mentioned in his daily press conference that the program has started distributing aid in Gezira state for the first time ever.
Dujarric noted that on Wednesday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and UNHCR will jointly launch a revised Humanitarian Response Plan and a Regional Refugee Response Plan for Sudan in light of the growing needs.
It is reported that $283.6 million has been provided for the current Humanitarian Response Plan for Sudan, representing about 16 percent of the requested amount of $1.7 billion.