Hailing British donation for Sudan, UN food agency urges more global aid

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today praised the United Kingdom for donating $8.7 million for its road works project in southern Sudan, but warned that the initiative faces a crippling funding shortfall of some $70 million and called for more donor contributions.

WFP is rebuilding more than 3,000 kilometres of roads in the war-ravaged region at a cost of $183 million, the agency said in a news release. Two decades of fighting between the north and the south, which ended last year, almost completely destroyed southern Sudan’s road network.

“The UK Government’s donation will allow us to continue our work for only so long. We urge donors to open their hearts and their wallets so we can finish the entire roads project on time and provide a peace dividend to the people of southern Sudan,” said WFP Sudan Regional Director Ramiro Lopes da Silva.

Voicing gratitude for the contribution, he said it would help the agency “make urgently required interventions to keep strategic links open” as the rainy season begins in a few months.

Mr. Lopes da Silva said the money would be used immediately to do emergency repairs to two bridges and sections of carriageway between Kaya on the Ugandan border and the town of Rumbek, which is WFP’s most important logistical hub within southern Sudan.

The money will also be spent clearing landmines from key roadways across the country, the agency said.

“The road project will dramatically reduce the cost of delivering goods and will facilitate the reopening of market linkages, which is crucial to rebuilding the country, provide a safe passage for hundreds of thousands of returning refugees and leave a lasting legacy to the people of Sudan long after WFP’s work is done,” said Mr. Lopes da Silva.

Since late 2003, WFP has rebuilt roughly 1,400 kilometres of roads, repaired bridges and culverts, and removed and destroyed some 200,000 pieces of unexploded ordinance.

Apart from the roads, WFP is also looking for $746 million from donors in 2006 for its emergency operation to feed more than 6 million people in Sudan.