CAIRO (AP) — Families in Sudan’s embattled western Darfur region have finally received an emergency boost in food aid desperately needed to avert a looming famine, the U.N. Food Agency said Thursday.
The World Food Program said in an update that five convoys carrying 5,000 tons of food aid have crossed from neighboring Chad to Darfur since early 2024.
Some aid trucks entered the region on June 10 and completed deliveries in southern Darfur on Thursday, Leni Kinzli, chief of communications at the WFP’s Sudan office, told The Associated Press. Distribution continued in central and western Darfur.
“Food distribution is an emergency measure to prevent famine and reach those with the highest levels of food insecurity to prevent widespread famine,” Kinzli said. “But we must continue to do more and expand access and we are working to potentially open new corridors from South Sudan and Egypt as well as expanding cross-border access from Port Sudan to the Darfur region.”
Famine threatens parts of Sudan, which has been engulfed by violence since April last year. At that point, tensions between the leaders of the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces erupted into heavy fighting and spread across the country, including to Darfur.
The latest WFP distribution was part of two aid convoys heading to Sudan in recent weeks, carrying enough aid for more than 245,000 people. The first convoy crossed the border on May 23, delivering aid to 117,000 people in the states of South and Central Darfur.
“We are not only meeting immediate needs, but also making sure people have enough to get through the coming months,” Kinzli said. “Particularly in those areas which we expect will become more difficult to reach as road conditions continue to deteriorate due to rain in the coming weeks.”
In May, WFP said in a report that at least 1.7 million people are already facing hunger in Darfur, including in Al Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state under siege by RSF.
Some of the challenges in reaching communities in Darfur include securing access through negotiations, which Kinzli described as “complicated” because many of the checkpoints are controlled by different armed groups. She added that it is extremely dangerous to get help in places where there is heavy fighting, such as Al Fasher.
Some WFP aid trucks experienced mechanical problems during the most recent food aid deliveries due to deteriorating road conditions. However, three more WFP convoys carrying food and nutritious goods are planned to enter Darfur from Chad via the Tine crossing in the coming weeks to assist 675,000 people.
Carlos Perea-Milla, from the Sudan logistics team at the international humanitarian organization Action Against Hunger, told the AP that Tine, which leads to North Darfur state, is the only authorized crossing point for U.N. agencies. The Adre Passage, occasionally used by humanitarian organizations, provides access to RSF-controlled areas. The UN humanitarian agency is pushing for Adre to be used as the other official border crossing into Sudan.
