Sudan dispatches aid as famine looms
December 24, 2024 (PORT SUDAN) – The Sudanese government began dispatching tons of humanitarian aid to seven states, including the capital, Khartoum, on Monday, as a global hunger monitoring agency warned that 24.6 million Sudanese could face severe hunger by May.
Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Salwa Adam Binia oversaw the final arrangements for the overland transport of aid, coinciding with the grim forecast from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) initiative. The IPC report, released Tuesday, projected that famine, currently affecting five areas, including the Western Nuba Mountains, could spread to the Central Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan.
On Tuesday, Binia and the humanitarian aid technical committee members witnessed the departure of aid convoys from Port Sudan in eastern Sudan.
“The convoys are carrying 400 tons of flour to Khartoum, 100 tons to Kassala, and 300 tons of flour and 150 tons of food and shelter materials to Singa, the capital of Sennar state,” Binia told reporters.
She added that trucks were transporting 100 tons of flour to Gedaref state, 450 tons to White Nile state (including 50 tons for Al Jazirah Aba and 150 tons for displaced people from Central and South Darfur), 2,000 tons of flour to River Nile state, and 1,000 tons to Northern state, in addition to 375 tons for the Abu Deleq area east of Khartoum.
Binia also revealed that the government had renewed a contract to transport aid to South Kordofan by air for an additional two months following the expiration of the initial one-month contract.
Since November 3, the Sudanese government, in cooperation with its counterpart in South Sudan, has been airlifting 1,000 tons of aid from Juba to Kadugli airport in South Kordofan and airdropping supplies to the Julud area.
However, activists have complained that airdropping aid to Julud, which is under the control of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), often results in damaged goods, necessitating alternative delivery methods.
Addressing the challenges in South Kordofan, Binia acknowledged the “specificity” of the region, where some areas are under SPLM-N control. While airdrops continue, she said that efforts are underway to deliver aid overland.
Earlier this month, the World Food Programme (WFP) reported that fighting in Umm Rawaba, North Kordofan, had blocked an aid convoy to South Kordofan that had left Port Sudan on November 12.
Binia said that open crossings and air and land transport are facilitating aid flow to the five Darfur states, but acknowledged obstacles in delivering relief to El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur.
She accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of blocking aid access to El Fasher, intercepting relief supplies and “using it as a weapon.”
The RSF has maintained a tight siege on El Fasher since April, launching repeated attacks on the city in an attempt to seize the last remaining army stronghold in Darfur.