Germany Supports Vulnerable People In Sudan Through Nutrient-Dense Food
KHARTOUM – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today welcomed a US$ 2.7 million contribution from the Government of Germany. WFP will use the funds to buy 2,212 metric tonnes of Super Cereal, a nutrient-dense food that WFP adapted to prevent acute malnutrition, particularly among children in Sudan.
Super Cereal comprise corn-soya blend and fortified with 19 vitamins and minerals. The highly nutritious food will benefit 204,250 pregnant and nursing women as well as children aged under five in Sudan for almost three months.
“We are very grateful for this contribution which will enable us to prevent malnutrition among children, both in families displaced in the first half of this year in Darfur as well as those who have fled the conflict in South Sudan and sought refuge here in Sudan,” said WFP Country Director Adnan Khan.
WFP and its partners are currently implementing nutrition programmes to assist some 182,000 children, pregnant women and nursing mothers across Darfur and another 80,800 children in Kassala, Red Sea and South Kordofan states.
Besides WFP’s nutrition programme, the German Government also contributed US$ 1.3 million in June towards the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS). The safe and reliable service, run by WFP, is widely used by members of the humanitarian community in Sudan, especially those working in areas where air transport is the only means of reaching the remote communities that they serve.
"Germany continues to stand at the side of those suffering from conflict. With our contribution of US$ 2.7 million to WFP, we can support displaced families in Darfur and those having sought refuge from violent clashes in South Sudan. It will help keep air services for the entire humanitarian community in Sudan up and running and will in particular help those who are affected the most: little children. Our support is crucial as malnutrition at a young age can have dramatic consequences for the rest of a child's life," the German Ambassador to Sudan, Rolf Welberts, said.
Since 2010, Germany has contributed some US$ 13.5 million towards WFP’s emergency operation in Sudan in addition to almost US$3.9 million towards UNHAS.
Sudan remains one of WFP’s largest and most complex operations, providing food assistance to people suffering from conflict, displacement and chronic under-nourishment in Darfur, as well as in the east and border areas to the south.
In 2014, WFP plans to assist 4.1 million people across Sudan, 3.2 million of whom are in the conflict-affected region of Darfur through general food distributions, food for training, food for work, school feeding and nutrition programmes to prevent and treat moderate acute malnutrition among women and children.
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WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food in emergencies and working with communities to build resilience. In 2013, WFP assisted more than 80 million people in 75 countries.
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For more information please contact (email address: firstname.lastname@wfp.org):
Amor Almagro, WFP/Khartoum, Tel. +249 183248001 (ext. 2114), Mob. +249 912174853
Abdulaziz Abdulmomin, WFP/Khartoum, Tel. +249 183248001 (ext. 2123), Mob. +249 912167055
