SUDAN: Cash shortage threatens vital air service
NAIROBI, 10 March 2008 (IRIN) - Insecurity is delaying food aid deliveries to needy people in Sudan's strife-torn region of Darfur, the UN food agency has reported, adding that lack of funding for its crucial aid service could make the humanitarian situation there worse.
"Our humanitarian air operation for aid workers could be forced to stop flying because we have no money, at a time when our helicopters and aircraft are needed more than ever because of high insecurity on the roads," Kenro Oshidari, UN World Food Programme's (WFP) Representative in Sudan, said in a statement.
The amount of food aid distributed in Darfur has fallen by half of what would normally be delivered at this time of the year, according to WFP. It was also taking longer to transport supplies because hauliers were reluctant to take the risk of driving on roads where bandit attacks are common, it added.
Five WFP passenger vehicles and 45 WFP-contracted trucks have been hijacked since the beginning of 2008. Some 37 lorries are missing and 23 drivers are unaccounted for, the agency said.
WFP's Humanitarian Air Service (WFP-HAS) has received no confirmed donations for 2008 to fund its annual budget of US$77 million and its operations, which cost $6.2 million monthly, could end this month if additional funding is not available.
On average, 8,000 humanitarian workers per month use WFP-HAS in Darfur, 3,000 of them in helicopters to reach remote areas. Most passengers on WFP-HAS are NGO staff carrying out crucial healthcare, water and sanitation or food relief work.
"The entire humanitarian community depends on WFP-HAS. With a recent upsurge in insecurity in West Darfur and increased banditry on the roads throughout the region, the air operation is more important than ever," said Oshidari.
Warfare in Darfur escalated sharply in 2003 when communities living there took up arms against the government in Khartoum, accusing it of marginalising Darfur. At least 200,000 lives are estimated to have been lost while more than two million people have fled their homes.
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Theme(s): (IRIN) Conflict, (IRIN) Food Security, (IRIN) Refugees/IDPs
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Copyright © IRIN 2008
This material comes to you via IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations or its Member States.
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