WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME SAYS MORE SOUTHERN SUDANESE IN DESPERATE NEED OF FOOD AID
Nairobi -- After meeting with aid agencies this week to review emergency operations currently underway in southern Sudan, WFP announced it would target with food aid some 595,000 people in the hunger-stricken province of Bahr El Ghazal, of whom 380,000 are in critical need of food aid for survival.
The higher number was determined after aid agencies exchanged their most recent field reports which indicate that the number of people requiring emergency food relief has grown from six weeks ago. On March 31st, agencies were granted access by the Government of Sudan to areas in Bahr El Ghazal which had been off-limits for nearly two months. The deteriorating condition of the people in that region prompted a major emergency intervention.
Reports from WFP teams distributing food throughout Bahr El Ghazal indicate that the severity of the situation varies from location to location, with some areas having large numbers of malnourished women and children showing up for food distributions, while in other locations where harvests last year might have been better, populations appear to be coping for the moment.
The total number of people requiring humanitarian food aid throughout southern Sudan was also revised upwards from 700,000 to 930,000. Regions such as Eastern Equatoria and Western Upper Nile, while not as seriously affected as Bahr El Ghazal, were cited as cause for growing concern.
Since the lifting of the flight ban on March 31st, WFP has:
* increased its fleet of large cargo C-130 Hercules aircraft from one which was used during most of April, to two on April 28th, to four by May 13th. This followed progressive Government approvals to operate more Hercules aircraft. A fifth Hercules is still needed and is expected to be operational within ten days. WFP uses the Hercules aircraft in this operation because it can drop 16 metric tons of food from mid-air. Most of south Sudan's airstrips are small, dirt landing strips where large aircraft cannot land. These strips also become virtually unlandable for even smaller planes during the rainy season.
* started sending as many as 8-11 Hercules relief food flights a day from its airbase in Lokichoggio, Kenya, compared to two flights a day three weeks ago. Over the past few days WFP has at times faced some problems trying to maintain this flight schedule. Flights have been cancelled due to heavy rains pounding the Lokichoggio airstrip which caused aircraft to be diverted to Entebbe, Uganda. Flight delays and cancellations have also been brought on due to Kenya's limited aviation fuel supplies which at times have led to a complete grounding of all aircraft. Another growing problem is an increase in seasonal flocks of birds which have accumulated near the Lokichoggio airstrip and often get sucked into aircraft turbines, damaging aircraft engines.
* contracted an average of sixteen fuel tankers to the operation. These tankers are making continuous rotations via road between Eldoret (the northern hub for Kenya's fuel pipeline) and Lokichoggio in order to meet the enormous 130,000 litres per day fuel requirement of the operation. A current shortage of Jet Al fuel in Eldoret has forced WFP to send some of its planes to Nairobi for refuelling in order to keep the operation running. Delays have also been caused by heavy rains which have seriously damaged Kenya's already poor roads, causing temporary brakes in the shipment of fuel, food and other supplies.
* increased its monthly deliveries of food from 2,267 metric tons in April to an expected 4,000 tons in May, but this is still not enough to meet the emergency food needs of the southern Sudanese. In April nearly fifty percent of WFP's food was delivered by road. In May the majority of the food is expected to be delivered by air due to the increase in aircraft and the onset of the rains which will make road transport difficult. With the arrival of the 5th Hercules, the delivery capacity is expected to match the monthly requirement of 6,500 tons per month for Bahr El Ghazal and other areas of southern Sudan. However uncontrollable factors such as rains and fuel shortages could make meeting this target difficult.
* major outstanding funding requirements. WFP has appealed for a total of US$ 65.8 million to fund aircraft and food supplies over the next twelve months to keep emergency programmes operational in Sudan. To date, WFP has received US$ 15.4 million in confirmed contributions which can be used for these programmes.
* has enough food on-hand to continue operating its cross-border operation for 50 days at the current delivery rate. However, major pipeline breaks are expected starting July unless prompt donations are quickly received.
* a team of 25 staff working in southern Sudan, and is currently recruiting six new 2-person teams of experienced field staff which are expected to be on-location next week.
* sent WFP teams into 20 of the most critical southern Sudan locations to distribute food. WFP is currently reaching an average of six locations each week and anticipates reaching even more once the newly recruited are fully on-board. This week WFP has began returning to some of the worst affected areas such as Pakor to begin distributing food for the second time since March 31st. WFP at times faces two constraints in moving staff into locations. The first is the onset of seasonal rains which have over the past two weeks rendered some of southern Sudan's dirt airstrips temporarily unlandable. The second is insecurity which can prevent WFP from going into new areas or even force the agency to evacuate its staff once in an area that is threatened by security problems.
***
WFP is working in southern Sudan under the auspices of Operation Lifeline Sudan. OLS is a consortium of UN agencies and some 35 NGOs providing emergency relief and rehabilitation for drought and war-affected civilians in Sudan. UNICEF, which is lead agency coordinates all humanitarian activities, while WFP manages the overall logistics including a massive air operation.
For more information, contact:
Brenda Barton/Michele Quintaglie Regional Information Office Nairobi, Kenya Tel. 254-2-00622594/622336
Abigail Spring Information Officer WFP, New York Tel. 1-212-963-5196
distributed by - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Volunteers in Technical Assistance Disaster Information Center lists: listproc@vita.org sitreps nat-dsr web: www.vita.org appeal fireline - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - World Food Program Reports: http://www.vita.org/disaster/wfp