UN 1 million in Sudan Wont Get
Food Aid From May
By JOHN
HEILPRIN
Associated Press
Tue Mar 24
UNITED NATIONS – More than one
million people in Darfur will not get their food rations starting in May if
Even if other relief organizations
in the region help, those are "Band-Aid solutions, not long-term
solutions," John Holmes, the U.N.'s top humanitarian official, said.
The U.N.-Sudanese assessment team
toured
About 1.1 million people now
dependent on food aid will not receive their rations starting in May if the aid
gaps aren't filled, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in
She warned that money will run out
within four weeks for spare parts and fuel needed to provide drinking water for
850,000 people.
And more than 600,000 people are in
danger of not getting materials needed to build shelters before the upcoming
rainy season, Haq said.
"The risks are high,"
Holmes told reporters Tuesday. "The key tests still lie ahead."
He described the summary of the
assessment tour, which had to be signed by both the U.N. and
Holmes said the aid gaps would not
immediately lead to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, but said it
is "something where the issues build up over time."
The summary, signed by Haq and the head of Sudan's Humanitarian Aid Commission,
says the government and the U.N. will continue working together with existing
aid organizations in Darfur to ensure "that civilians in need can continue
to receive lifesaving food, health care, shelter, and water and sanitation."
Holmes also said security remains a
top concern after a 39-year-old Sudanese relief worker was shot dead at his
home in western
And less than two weeks ago, three foreign
aid workers and one local colleague were kidnapped in