Darfur sees increase in much-needed food aid, but still not enough to prevent famine, UN says

CAIRO (AP) — Families in Sudan in trouble western Darfur region have finally received an emergency boost in much-needed food aid to help stave off imminent famine, the UN food agency said Thursday.

O World Food Program said in an update that five convoys carrying 5,000 tons of food aid have crossed from neighboring Chad to Darfur since the beginning of 2024.

Some aid trucks entered the region on June 10 and completed deliveries in South Darfur on Thursday, Leni Kinzli, head of communications for the WFP Sudan office, told the Associated Press. Distribution continued in central and western Darfur.

“Food distribution is an emergency measure to prevent hunger and reach people at the highest levels of food insecurity in order to prevent widespread hunger,” Kinzli said. “But we need to continue to do more and expand access and we are working on possibly opening new corridors from South Sudan and Egypt and also expanding cross-country access from Port Sudan to the Darfur region.”

Famine looms in parts of Sudanwhich was swallowed by violence since April last year. It was then that tensions between Sudanese military leaders and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces erupted into intense fighting and spread across the country, including Darfur.

WFP’s latest distribution was part of two aid convoys that headed to Sudan in recent weeks, carrying enough assistance for more than 245,000 people. The first convoy crossed the country on May 23 and delivered aid to 117,000 people in the states of South and Central Darfur.

“We are not just meeting immediate needs, but ensuring people have enough to survive the next few months,” Kinzli said. “Especially in areas that we anticipate will become more difficult to reach as road conditions deteriorate further due to rain in the coming weeks.”

In May, the The PMA said in a report that at least 1.7 million people already face emergency levels of hunger in Darfur, including in Al Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, a state that is under siege by the RSF.

Some of the challenges in reaching communities in Darfur include securing access through negotiations, which Kinzli described as “complicated” because many of the checkpoints are controlled by different armed groups. She added that bringing aid to places with heavy fighting, like Al Fasher, is extremely dangerous.

Some WFP aid trucks encountered mechanical problems in the most recent food aid delivery due to deteriorating road conditions. Still, three more WFP convoys carrying food and nutritious products are planned to enter Darfur in the coming weeks from Chad via the Tine Pass to help 675,000 people.

Carlos Perea-Milla, from the Sudan logistics team for the international humanitarian organization Action Against Hunger, told the AP that Tine, which leads into North Darfur state, is the only authorized crossing point for UN agencies. The Adre crossing point, occasionally used by humanitarian organizations, provides access to areas controlled by the RSF. The UN humanitarian agency is pushing for Adre to be used as another official crossing point into Sudan.