Third food aid batch dispatched from Sudan to South Sudan
April 22, 2017 (KHARTOUM) -A third food assistance batch including 807 metric tonnes has been dispatched from the capital of Sudan’s North Kordofan state, El Obeid to the needy population in South Sudan, said humanitarian aid official.
In February, three United Nations agencies declared an outbreak of localised famine in several areas in the young nation, saying an additional one million people were on the brink of starvation.
On 30 March, the World Food Programme (WFP) began providing food aid to South Sudan using a new corridor opened by Sudan. The new route enables transport of food items overland from El Obeid in central Sudan to Bentiu in South Sudan’s Unity state.
Humanitarian aid commissioner in North Kordofan Ahmed Babiker al-Hassan said the new batch of food assistance was shipped from the WFP’s stocks in White Nile state and was dispatched to South Sudan from El Obeid.
He added the higher and regional committees to deliver the food aid to the affected in South Sudan are working hard to transport the assistance prior to the rainy season, saying a number of plans and programmes were developed to achieve that end.
He pointed that they plan to transport 2000 metric tonnes via this route weekly, adding the rugged roads hinder the flow of food assistance to South Sudan.
In July 2014, Juba and Khartoum signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to open a humanitarian corridor to deliver food assistance to vulnerable South Sudanese through the River Nile or by road. Last January, the agreement was extended for a six month period.
Earlier this month, Sudan said it doesn’t rule out to open an Airbridge to deliver food assistance to South Sudan during the rainy season revealing a proposal to open a third road corridor to transport aid to the needy population in the war-torn nation.
South Sudan became the world’s newest nation after declaring independence from Sudan in 2011. However, in 2013 the country was plunged into civil war.
However, in 2013 the country was plunged into civil war killing tens of thousands of people and displacing millions.
(ST)