World Meals Programme (WFP) condemns theft of life-saving meals from warehouse in Gezira State

The United Nations World Meals Programme (WFP) strongly condemns the looting of meals provides from its premises in Gezira State final weekend after components of Sudan’s paramilitary Fast Assist Forces broke into the warehouse and workplace, following their takeover of Wad Medani.

The warehouse contained sufficient shares to feed almost 1.5 million severely meals insecure folks for one month in Gezira State, the place a brand new offensive has compelled greater than 300,000 folks to once more run for his or her lives.

“Sudanese people who find themselves already determined and fleeing the combating have now been robbed of the vital help they want. That is insupportable and should cease,” stated Michael Dunford, WFP Regional Director for Jap Africa. “In areas below their management, the Fast Assist Forces should assure the safety of humanitarian help, employees and premises”.

The WFP warehouse contained greater than 2,500 metric tons of life-saving meals, together with pulses, sorghum, vegetable oil and diet dietary supplements. The specialised nutritious meals have been meant to forestall and assist malnutrition remedy for greater than 20,000 kids and pregnant and breastfeeding girls via WFP-supported well being facilities. 

WFP was compelled to quickly pause distributions in Gezira state final weekend. It’s as soon as once more reconfiguring its humanitarian response and has began some distributions in states additional to the East, the place folks fleeing Gezira are actually in search of refuge.

WFP operations are a lifeline to almost a million determined folks in Gezira state and the looting of premises undermines our operations at a time when almost 18 million persons are dealing with acute starvation.

WFP has supported greater than 5.6 million folks in seventeen of eighteen states throughout Sudan with meals and diet help for the reason that battle erupted in mid-April 2023. The company warned earlier this month of a looming starvation disaster if persons are not in a position to obtain support.    

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Meals Programme (WFP).