The United Arab Emirates has inked a contract with the UN World Food Program (WFP) to provide $25 million in emergency food aid to people impacted by the situation in Sudan and South Sudan, Emirates News Agency (WAM) said Sunday.
The United Nations claims that the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been fighting a conflict that has claimed about 15,000 lives and resulted in around 8.5 million displaced persons and refugees since mid-April 2023. According to the organization, help will be given to individuals directly affected by the crisis, including refugees, internally displaced persons, and returnees touched by violence.
Sultan Al Shamsi, assistant minister for international development affairs, and Matthew Nims, executive director of the WFP’s Washington office, signed the agreement on behalf of the UAE. The agency claims that the fighting in Sudan is causing a severe food shortage among roughly 17.7 million people in Sudan and 7.1 million people in South Sudan.
The UAE has dedicated a total of $25 million in funding to assist in disaster relief: $20 million for Sudan and $5 million for South Sudan, the agency stated. The WFP said on Wednesday that “of the more than two million war-displaced people now living outside Sudan’s borders, more than half are in Chad and South Sudan, countries already grappling with soaring hunger of their own.” The WFP said that “as Sudan’s crisis drags on, the fallout is growing in neighboring countries.”
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Using a popular vote, South Sudan broke apart from Sudan in 2011. The UAE’s WFP donation fits within a larger dedication to assist regional humanitarian projects. With $70 million set aside for UN agencies and humanitarian organizations, the UAE has promised a total of $100 million to assist Sudan. This latest $25 million donation highlights the UAE’s continuous will to solve the humanitarian catastrophe in South Sudan and Sudan.
Recent Contributions:
- $25 million: A recent contribution to the UN World Food Program (WFP) for emergency food assistance in Sudan and South Sudan.
- $70 million: A commitment announced in April at the ‘International Humanitarian Conference for Sudan and Neighboring Countries’.
Breakdown of Recent Contributions:
- $20 million for Sudan.
- $5 million for South Sudan.
The assistance seeks to solve food shortages and stop hunger, thereby easing the humanitarian situation in Sudan. Already, the UAE has given Sudan medical, food, and disaster supplies, as well as aid totaling $150 million. Moreover, the UAE committed itself to providing complete assistance to people impacted by the crisis by building a field hospital in Abeche City, Chad, for Sudanese immigrants.
The immediate needs of people suffering from the ongoing conflict in Sudan and South Sudan depend on the humanitarian efforts of the UAE. The UAE wants to provide timely and efficient aid to lessen the effects of the crisis on underprivileged groups by collaborating with the WFP and other international organizations.
