Concern at food relief gaps left by NGO withdrawals

WFP said on Tuesday it was particularly concerned over the effect of gaps in supplementary and therapeutic feeding programmes that would result from certain NGOs discontinuing work in SPLM-held areas of southern Sudan. They were forced to pull out after refusing to sign a memorandum of understanding with the rebels’ relief wing, the Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Association (SRRA). While the agency would ensure uninterrupted food aid distributions in all areas affected by the departure of World Vision - which, until 1 March, was in charge of emergency food aid distributions in Tonj and parts of Gogrial counties in Bahr el Ghazal - there would be gaps in therapeutic and supplementary feeding for malnourished children, WFP said. UNICEF has also indicated that the withdrawal of World Vision and German Agro-Action (GAA) “may affect food security in these areas in the long term”, an OLS report added.

Apart from feeding programmes, the provision of agricultural input and seeds might also not be covered in time to avoid negative consequences, the WFP report stated. The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is to examine more fully the impact of the withdrawal of NGOs in south Sudan.