USAID announces airlift to Darfur
WASHINGTON, May 4, 2004 (USAID) — The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced today the first of four planned airlifts this week to Darfur in western Sudan.
The airlifts are part of the United States’ response to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Darfur. A total of 1,400 rolls of plastic sheeting and 37,500 blankets will be delivered.
The first airlift arrived in Nyala in South Darfur today on a commercially charted aircraft, carrying 650 rolls of plastic sheeting from USAID pre-positioned stockpiles in Dubai. Each roll of plastic sheeting can provide shelter for ten families.
USAID staff on the ground in Nyala met the plane and are overseeing arrangements for the items to be distributed through implementing partners in the field. The total value of the commodities arriving this week is over $750,000, including transportation costs.
“Through this initial airlift, and subsequent planned flights, the United States government is working to respond to the enormous needs on the ground in Darfur,” said Roger Winter, USAID Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance.
“In addition to the immediate needs for food and medical supplies to the displaced populations, we have to provide people with temporary shelter to protect them from the elements as we enter the rainy season.”
According to the United Nations, the crisis in the western Sudanese region of Darfur is currently the worst humanitarian and human rights catastrophe in the world.
The U.N. has estimated that, out of a pre-conflict population in Darfur of 6.5 million, approximately one million people have been internally displaced within Sudan and more than 110,000 people have fled across the border into neighboring Chad as a result of this conflict. To date, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and U.S.
Department of State have provided over $85 million in humanitarian assistance for the crisis in Darfur in western Sudan, including over 81,000 metric tons of emergency food assistance.