Hijacking cut WFP food supplies for Darfur as funding shortfall threatens humanitarian air service

Khartoum – The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that banditry is delaying vital food deliveries to Darfur while a lack of contributions may ground its Humanitarian Air
Service at the end of the month.

«This is an unprecedented situation. Our humanitarian air operation for aid workers could be forced to stop flying because we have no money, at a time when our helicopters and aircraft
are needed more than ever because of high insecurity on the roads,» said Kenro Oshidari, WFP Representative in Sudan.

Hijackings

WFP is currently transporting about half as much food into Darfur as it normally would at this time of year and the turnaround time for deliveries has slowed because truckers are unwilling to
risk driving on the dangerous roads.

So far this year, six WFP passenger vehicles and 45 WFP-contracted trucks have been hijacked.

A total 37 trucks remain missing and 23 drivers are unaccounted for.

WFP currently has about 60,000 metric tons of food in Darfur, equal to about two months’ rations for the 2 million people who currently rely on WFP food assistance.

Possible ration reduction

As the May to October rainy season approaches the number of people needing humanitarian assistance and their food requirements will go up by as much as 50 percent. If WFP cannot maintain
deliveries it will be forced to reduce rations in some areas.

«It’s vital that the main transport routes are secured. Our trucking contractors are delivering food under immense risks and the situation is unsustainable,» Oshidari said.

In the latest incident, seven trucks were stolen and the drivers abducted on 4 March on their way to El Fasher in North Darfur. The bandits unloaded the food and left it behind when they drove
off with the trucks.

Meanwhile, WFP’s Humanitarian Air Service (WFP-HAS) has received no confirmed donations this year to its annual budget of US$77 million.

New funds needed

Without an immediate infusion of cash, the operation will not be able meet its US$6.2 million monthly costs and will be forced to cease flights at the end of this month until new funds can be
found.

An average of 8,000 humanitarian workers per month use WFP-HAS in Darfur; 3,000 of them on helicopters to remote areas unreachable by road. The majority of passengers on WFP-HAS are staff of
non-governmental organizations carrying out crucial health care, water and sanitation or food relief work.

«The entire humanitarian community depends on WFP-HAS. With a recent upsurge in insecurity in West Darfur and increased banditry on the roads throughout the region, the air operation is
more important than ever. If it shut down, even for a brief period, vital relief would be denied to vulnerable civilians in Darfur,» Oshidari said.

Air service

In 2007, the air service managed by WFP carried almost 160,000 passengers from 170 different agencies and non-governmental organizations in Sudan.

WFP-HAS also conducted 267 emergency medical and security evacuations and relocations.

Its current fleet has 24 aircraft, including six helicopters in Darfur.

Despite the lack of donations in 2008, WFP-HAS has been able to stay in the air until now using US$11 million carried over from 2007.

The air operation’s funds are raised separately from WFP’s food relief budget in Sudan, which stands at $697 million this year and plans to feed up to 5.6 million people throughout Sudan.