Germany donates USD 2.7 million to Sudan’s poor
Of this total, the WFP in Sudan said in September that the German government made a contribution of USD 2.7 million to support the nutrition of children and pregnant women in Sudan.
The funds will be used to buy 2,212 metric tonnes of the enhanced food mix, which contains corn and soya and 19 vitamins and minerals, which the programme has adapted to prevent acute malnutrition particularly among children.
Rolf Welberts, German Ambassador to Sudan.
The German Ambassador to Sudan Rolf Welberts says Germany is continuing its support for the victims of conflicts. Through our contribution to the WFP we can support the displaced families from Darfur and those seeking refuge due to the heavy fighting in South Sudan.”
He further explains that Germany will help to sustain air lifting humanitarian aid to regions across Sudan, supporting children in particular. The support we provide is very important as malnutrition at an early age can have disastrous consequences on the children’s later years,” he says.
Adnan Khan, Head of the WFP in Sudan, expressed his gratitude. This contribution will help us prevent malnutrition among the children of the families who were displaced from Darfur in the first half of this year and those who fled the conflict in South Sudan and took refuge here in Sudan,” he says.
Khan said the WFP and its partners are currently implementing nutrition programmes to help about 182,000 people including children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers across Darfur and about 81,000 children in the states of Kassala, the Red Sea and South Kordofan.
In addition to its contribution to the WFP efforts, the German government has given USD 1.7 million in June to support the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS).
Adnan Khan, Head of the WFP in Sudan.
© The Niles | Aisha Al-SamanyThese safe and reliable services provided by the WFP through UNHAS are largely used by the humanitarian workers in Sudan especially those working in distant areas which can only be accessed by air.
Khan also explained that Sudan is still one of the WFP’s major and most complicated operations as the programme is providing food aid for people suffering from conflicts, displacement and chronic undernourishment in Darfur, the east and border areas in the south.
According to a UNICEF report issued on August 28, there is an urgent need to invest in children’s nutrition in Sudan. About half a million children are suffering from acute malnutrition every year in Sudan,” Geert Cappelaere, UNICEF representative in Sudan said.
An official report issued by the Sudanese Ministry of Health revealed that a third of the country’s children (1.8 million) are suffering from chronic malnutrition.
The report added that the malnutrition rate in Sudan is 4.16%, making it higher than the international emergency level which is 1.5%.
