WFP calls on donors to support its air service in Darfur

September 5, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The Food Programme (WFP) on Friday called for an urgent support to its humanitarian air service saying they are in need of $10 million to maintain vital aid link operational in Sudan’s Darfur region.

“Without the necessary financial assistance, the Programme’s ability to deliver food assistance to millions of people in the region, as well as to provide the air transportation that enables aid workers to reach them, could be seriously compromised,” said WFP spokesperson Bettina Luescher at a press conference in Geneva on Friday.

Luescher further said the Service is underfunded and without $9.9 million in financial support, it will have to close down by the end of September.

From January to June 2015, the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) flew 20,000 aid workers to areas that were previously unreachable by other means particularly in Darfur region.

“WFP is urging donors to come forward to make sure the people in Darfur and other regions can continue to receive the assistance they need. Without the Service, people will suffer,” said Luescher.

Since the beginning of this year, WFP has helped three million people in Darfur region receive badly needed food assistance.

last July Germany provided 2.5 Euros to support WFP activities in Darfur. 500,000 Euros of the German grant were allocated to the Humanitarian Air Service.

The current situation reminds a severe financial hardship the UNHAS in Darfur faced in 2008.

(ST)