Millions of Sudanese have been receiving food and nutrition aid from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), as it aims to triple the number of people it supports to 7 million.
WFP’s top priority is to deliver life-saving assistance to areas experiencing famine or on the brink of it.
Today, intensified fighting and the arbitrary obstruction of humanitarian convoys are hindering the swift and consistent movement of desperately needed aid.
Since launching a large-scale surge of food aid in late 2024, WFP has reached hard-to-access areas, including Zamzam Camp in North Darfur, southern Khartoum, and Gebaish in West Kordofan.
In January, WFP was able to access Wad Madani in Gezira State after the city became safe enough to allow trucks carrying food and nutrition supplies to pass through.
Over 2.5 million people per month received much-needed food and nutrition assistance in the last quarter of 2024, including many for the first time since the conflict began.
Acting Country Director for Sudan, Alex Marianelli, said they urgently needed a continuous flow of aid to families in the hardest-hit locations, which have also been the most difficult to reach.
Marianelli explained the challenges they face in reaching areas in Darfur, pointing out that it took a longer period to reach their destination as local officials from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) delayed around 40 humanitarian trucks for nearly three weeks, requiring new clearances and inspections. As a result, the WFP-led convoy had to be redirected to another famine-risk area in the Darfur region.
The RSF has proven to be difficult in this period, detaining trucks with aid and making demands, thereby delaying delivery or causing a diversion to another famine-risk area in the Darfur region.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) delayed around 40 humanitarian trucks for nearly three weeks, requiring new clearances and inspections.
The WFP called on all parties in Sudan to remove unnecessary barriers and obstacles preventing a full-scale humanitarian response to the country’s growing hunger crisis. The neutrality and independence of aid workers and humanitarian efforts must be respected.
