UN food agency works to aid flood victims in central Sudan

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today launched an emergency relief effort to deliver food and supplies to displaced people in Central Sudan, where recent floods destroyed an estimated 15,000 homes.

“WFP has joined forces with other UN agencies and the Sudanese Government to get emergency supplies, including food and non-food items, moving quickly to the victims of the flooding,” said Kenro Oshidari, WFP Sudan Representative.

Thousands of Sudanese people were driven from their homes by floods that began late last week and have now inundated dozens of communities across central Sudan.

The agency plans to distribute food to 20,000 people in five locations near the city of Kassala, close to the Eritrean border, where the Gash River has burst its banks. WFP has 3,000 metric tons of food stockpiled in Kassala, enough to feed the flood victims for three weeks.

The agency said in a news release that it will work in the coming days with other UN agencies to determine the full extent of the damage and the level of assistance that may be required in affected central Sudanese cities. The UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) is providing helicopters for the effort.