First aid convoy from Khartoum reaches S. Sudan: UN

November 9, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The United Nations annouced on Sunday that its first aid convoy from Sudan into South Sudanese territory reached with adequate supplies for 45,000 people for a month.

Both countries, in collaboration with the UN, agreed in July to send food aid to the world’s youngest nation that has faced violent conflict since December last year.

Ali Zaatari, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan said the first 18 trucks “carrying some 700 metric tons of food for 45,000 people for one month”, entered South Sudan on Saturday

The delivered food will “contribute to ongoing efforts to alleviate the suffering of the conflict-affected populations in South Sudan”.

At least 1.8 million people have been forced out of their homes as a result of violence which flared in the coutnry in mid-December 2013.
Thousands of people have been forced into neighburoing nations.

Last week, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Sudan said it 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,” it said in a statement.

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

The assessment showed that 8.4% of children below five years of age were moderately malnourished and a high global acute malnutrition rate of 11.4% persists among pregnant women and nursing mothers.

(ST)