New York - Khartoum: Europe and the Arabs
While about 5 million people in Sudan are on the brink of famine, the World Food Program has warned that the opportunity to avoid famine in conflict areas is rapidly narrowing with the advent of the lean season and the start of the rainy season next month, which will make access to vital transportation routes inaccessible. According to what was stated in the daily United Nations news bulletin, a copy of which we received on Thursday morning
At the conclusion of his visit to the country, Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the program, said that the situation in Sudan is “desperate and deteriorating rapidly.” He noted that the World Food Program has the potential to expand its operations, “but to achieve this we need to facilitate access across the front lines of the war, as well as across the borders from Chad and South Sudan.”
In an interview with UN News during his visit to Red Sea State in Sudan, Mr. Skaw said: “Of the 18 million people we estimate are suffering from severe food insecurity, we can only reach between 25 and 30 percent of them, and of those "The most severe cases of food insecurity, we don't even reach that number, so we need a paradigm shift, a real change, at the level of [humanitarian] access, otherwise we will see a disaster here in Sudan."
Mr. Skaw said there were only a few weeks left to stockpile food supplies in parts of Darfur and Kordofan before the rainy season began and many roads became unusable. He noted that farmers also need to safely access their farmland for planting before the rains fall.
Pressure on all parties
Deputy Executive Director Skaw said the situation in Sudan had not received the attention it deserved. “This must change now,” he added. “Concerted diplomatic efforts and more resources are urgently needed to protect civilians and strengthen the humanitarian response. WFP is committed and ready to do its part.” .
He stressed to UN News the need to put “pressure on all parties” to ensure better access to humanitarian aid. He said that during his visit, he met with the authorities in Port Sudan, who he stated were committed to improving access across the lines of contact, as well as examining opportunities to do more for cross-border humanitarian operations. While welcoming the signs that the parties recognize the seriousness of the situation and the commitments made to facilitate humanitarian efforts, he stressed that these commitments “must be urgently translated into realities on the ground.”
Regarding the escalating violence in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur - which has led to the death and injury of large numbers of civilians, damage to the only functioning hospital in the state and impeding humanitarian access to the city and beyond - Mr. Skaw urged the warring parties to fulfill their obligations under international law to protect civilians and stop the fighting.