Sudan Hunger AlertPosted by: admin | Posted on: July 31, 2008
Two decades of armed conflict and recurrent droughts have left some 3.2 million Sudanese dependent on food aid for survival.
The 20-year civil war between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army – the single most important cause of food insecurity in Sudan – has resulted in massive displacement of civilians, disruption of agricultural activities and destruction of socio-economic infrastructures in the country.
The effects of the conflict were compounded by three successive years of drought. Emergency food aid is urgently needed in the drought-hit states of Red Sea, Darfur & Kordofan, where the inhabitants’ coping mechanisms have been exhausted.
Even where there is relatively good food production, insecurity & a weak marketing system restrict the cost-effective movement of goods into hunger zones.
The recent Machakos peace initiative has brought renewed hopes for peace and improved humanitarian access to areas of Sudan. The agreement, signed in July 2002 between the Government of Sudan and SPLM/A to cease hostilities, was followed in October by a Memorandum of Understanding between the two parties and the United Nations which provides for unimpeded humanitarian access to all areas and people in need of assistance.
While allowing aid to reach parts of Sudan, such as the Blue Nile, for the first time, there has been a simultaneous need for extra resources to support populations previously trapped by the conflict.