Government acknowledges drought crisis

The Sudan government has said that it is essential to act quickly on a serious problem of drought in a number of affected regions. In a high-level meeting between government officials, diplomats and humanitarian agencies this week in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, the government called for “swift action domestically and at the international level”. Senior officials said erratic rains, long dry spells and a bad distribution of rains had led to a critical “food gap” in many areas, including the Darfur states, the Kordofan states, the Red Sea, Kassala and White Nile states, as well as some parts of southern Sudan.

The government said that while assistance provided so far by the government and the international community had helped to stabilise the situation, it was time to act quickly “to prevent a human crisis”.
The government had established a high-level committee under the chairmanship of the first vice-president, charged with maintaining food security. A technical committee under the chairmanship of the humanitarian aid commissioner had also been established to deal with “emergency situations related to food security”. Affected states, provinces and localities had also formed committees, an official source said. Measures taken had included mobilising food and cereals from areas of surplus for dispatch to areas of need, providing drinking water, encouraging importation of cereals and wheat flour by the private sector, and initiating projects in cooperation with humanitarian agencies. Government officials told diplomats and humanitarian agencies that one of the necessary measures taken over the crisis was “recognition of the fact that there is an actual problem created by drought”.

Humanitarian sources told IRIN that it was “very good news” that the Sudan government had acknowledged the extent of the crisis, and that it would hopefully encourage donors to commit urgently needed funds.