WFP aids vulnerable communities in Abyei region

November 3, 2014 (KHARTOUM/ABYEI) – The UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Sudan said it had started distributing life-saving food assistance this week to vulnerable communities in northern Abyei for the first time since May 2011.

“A one-month food ration will be distributed to over 15,000 people in need in five locations in the area. The distribution, which started Monday and reached over 7,900 people up until now, will continue in the coming days,” the agency said.

A rapid food security and nutrition assessment carried out in June in 10 areas northeast of Abyei town, WFP said, painted a fragile picture of the food security situation among communities living in these areas due to poor harvests.

The assessment reportedly showed that 8.4% of children below five years of age were moderately malnourished and that a high global acute malnutrition rate of11.4% persists among pregnant women and nursing mothers.

“While WFP in South Sudan has been providing assistance to other areas of Abyei over the past few years, the recent assessment has allowed us to identify humanitarian needs and gaps in previously unsupported locations that must be addressed both over the short and long terms,” said WFP country director Adnan Khan.

WFP says it also has plans to support livelihood activities that will contribute to increasing agricultural production and improving water management systems, through the creation of community assets such as haffirs for rainwater harvesting and dams.

Nutrition programmes have been designed to prevent further deterioration of the nutrition status of young children and their mothers will also be implemented, the world’s largest humanitarian agency said.

“Beyond providing life-saving food assistance, we are also looking at sustainable solutions which will enhance the food security and nutrition situation of vulnerable people living in these areas,” said Khan.

“WFP is grateful for the assistance that the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee, the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei, the Humanitarian Aid Commission and the government have given us, which enabled us to carry out the assessment, the delivery and distribution of much-needed food assistance,” he added.

Khan, however, said WFP will continue to rely on the support of its partners when it starts implementing other activities within the disputed region in the near future.

This year, WFP says it plans to assist 4.1 million people across Sudan, 3.2 million of whom are in the conflict-affected region of Darfur through general food distributions, food for training, food for work, school feeding and nutrition programmes to prevent and treat moderate acute malnutrition among women and children.

(ST)