WFP begins food distribution for over 220,000 IDPs in Sudan

The World Food Programme (WFP) reports that food and nutrition distributions for over 220,000 people have started in Tawila, North Darfur – where hundreds of thousands are seeking refuge from horrific violence in and around El Fasher and Zamzam IDP Camp.

The WFP aid deliveries to the center of Khartoum have been the first distributions within the downtown area of Khartoum since the conflict started two years ago.

Distributions have also started in Alazhari neighborhood in south Khartoum for 20,000 people – one of the areas at high risk of famine. These efforts are part of WFP’s scale up to to support 1 million people across all seven localities in greater Khartoum over the coming month.

WFP is also ramping up assistance to people who have recently fled horrific violence in El Fasher or Zamzam Camp. The first aid convoys with 1,600 metric tonnes of food and nutrition supplies for 220,000 people are arriving in Tawila, where over 300,000 people fled to. Additional aid is being mobilized as numbers of displaced continue to climb

WFP warns that the upcoming rainy season and funding shortfalls could threaten recent progress in turning the tide of famine – at a time when the aid agency urgently needs to be scaling up to pre-stock food before roads become flooded and impassable, and ahead of the lean season when hunger is expected to surge.

Currently, WFP reports reaching 4 million people a month and is pushing to expand this to 7 million a month, which is still only a fraction of the total need. Most concerning is that the aid agency may face pipeline breaks in the coming months that could force reduction/cuts to assistance unless urgent funding is received.