Dry season could aggravate water and food shortages in Darfur, relief agencies warn

With the dry season approaching, the western Sudanese region of Darfur could face such serious water shortages that food would not easily be available for people living there, relief agencies warned. "Virtually no suitable conditions for crop growth were registered over most of North Darfur [last year]," Peter Smerdon, spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP) told IRIN on Friday, quoting the preliminary findings of an indepth analysis of rainfall and vegetation in 2004, undertaken by WFP across Sudan. "Water is increasingly in short supply for both people and livestock - an essential component of the economy in Darfur," the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported in its Sudan Bulletin of 28 February. According to the ICRC, the natural water catchments in the region had been ruined in the fighting and by lack of maintenance. The drought exacerbated the situation. Oxfam reported that an estimated 85,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Abu Shouk camp, in North Darfur, had been receiving only 7.8 litres of water per person, per day - about half of what is considered a standard amount. Some of the IDPs in the camp are due to be relocated to a new site at Bisharia. Oxfam said this would alleviate some of the strain on water resources in Abu Shouk. The agencies said they were concerned that the failure of the two previous harvests, low rainfall last year and the depletion of coping mechanisms due to the conflict, could lead to food shortages in many areas across Darfur. WFP was planning a more detailed assessment of areas most likely to be affected to establish the full extent of the food shortages, Smerdon said. The ICRC also noted that continuing violence in different areas of Darfur had forced civilians to keep moving away from rural areas, where coping mechanisms were overstretched. This influx of people into towns and IDP camps had also swelled the populations of urban areas. It described the situation as "urgent" and stressed that - as the IDP camps were fairly well served by the humanitarian community, at least for the moment - it was important to provide assistance in rural areas. Meanwhile, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Jan Egeland, arrived in Khartoum on Thursday to start a visit to southern Sudan and Darfur. While in Darfur, Egeland is expected to visit groups of IDPs, as well as other affected communities and look at the progress made in providing assistance to the camp populations. He would also assess the impact of the inadequate rain received in the region and hold discussions with concerned authorities about the improvement of security for civilians and aid workers in conflict areas, the UN said in a statement.