Khartoum - Geneva: Europe and the Arabs
The World Food Programme and the World Health Organisation have welcomed the news that the Sudanese authorities will open the Adre border crossing from Chad to Sudan, where the war-torn country is facing famine or severe hunger in many areas. According to the UN daily news bulletin, a copy of which we received this morning.
At a press conference for UN agencies in Geneva, the spokesperson for the World Food Programme in Sudan, Leni Kienzle, said that this vital humanitarian corridor will allow the programme to expand the scope of assistance to 14 areas where famine conditions have appeared or are threatened by the specter of famine in the states of Darfur, Kordofan, Khartoum and Al-Jazeera.
Kinzle, who was speaking via video from Nairobi, added: "As we speak, two convoys carrying nearly 6,000 metric tons of food and nutritional supplies for about half a million people are being loaded and will head to areas at risk of famine in the states of North, Central and West Darfur once official government communications and approvals are received." Just two weeks ago, famine was confirmed in the Zamzam camp for displaced people near El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, which is home to more than 400,000 displaced people. WFP aims to support up to 8.4 million people in Sudan by the end of the year.

Kinzley said she hoped to “see the actual opening (of the Adre crossing) and see trucks moving across the border as soon as possible.” The WFP spokesperson in Sudan noted that the ongoing rainy season had already caused major setbacks in aid delivery.

“More than 50 trucks carrying an estimated 4,800 metric tons of food and nutrition assistance, enough for about half a million people, are stuck in various locations across Sudan and unable to move on to their final destinations due to flooded and impassable roads,” she added.

Danger of death from simple infection
A mild infection in a malnourished person with a weakened immune system can easily turn into a catastrophic illness, WHO spokesperson Dr Margaret Harris told reporters in Geneva. Children in particular can die very quickly from what could be a simple infection, she warned, adding that after 16 months of intense fighting, Sudan was ill-equipped to provide life-saving medical care, with up to 80 percent of hospitals non-functional.

“People are simply dying because they do not have access to basic medicines and essential health care. We are seeing reports of cholera, measles, malaria, dengue fever and meningitis from several states,” she added.

The most effective route
For her part, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta Salami, welcomed the decision by the Sudanese authorities to reopen the Adre crossing from Chad into Darfur.

Salami said in a statement issued on Friday that the Adre crossing is a critical humanitarian route for delivering emergency assistance to millions of people, including food, nutritional supplies, medicines and shelter.
“We have been relentlessly calling for the reopening of the Adre crossing, as it is the most effective and shortest route to deliver humanitarian assistance to Sudan at the required volume and speed, especially to Darfur,” she added.

She pointed out that food insecurity in Sudan has reached record levels, with nearly 26 million people suffering from acute hunger.

The UN official stressed that all parties must remove all unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles in Darfur and other areas facing acute needs, ensure the safety and security of relief workers and humanitarian assets in El Fasher, and facilitate the unhindered delivery of assistance through all possible routes into and within the country, including across conflict lines as agreed in the Jeddah Declaration.