Food fails to reach children of Darfur

[struggle4progress]

By David Blair in Khartoum
(Filed: 18/08/2004)


The world's biggest international relief effort has delivered less than one third of the special food needed for acutely malnourished children in Darfur, the United Nations said yesterday.

Vital time was lost when flights carrying a high-energy corn and soya blend were grounded by Ethiopia for seven days last month. The Ethiopians blamed air traffic control problems caused by African leaders arriving for a summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

The UN's World Food Programme is responsible for feeding all 1.2 million refugees in Darfur, the western region of Sudan which has been terrorised by the Janjaweed militia.

According to WFP figures, 8,220 tons of corn and soya blend were needed to feed malnourished children between April and last month. But only 2,455 tons were delivered, barely 30 per cent of the requirement.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/08/18/wsud18.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/08/18/ixworld.html

[gottaB]

1. Refugees live and die without shelter where aid agencies fear to tread

By Kim Sengupta in Mirair, Darfur

19 August 2004

They were around 3ft long, laid out in a neat row; graves of babies in a patchy field. It was difficult to see how many there were; the rain had spread the mounds of red earth and scattered the wild flowers laid on top. The babies died from lack of food, lack of medicine and infected water. It happened at a place no more than three hours' drive from Nyala, the capital of south Darfur, but deemed too dangerous for the international agencies and the United Nations to venture.

There are other children buried here, as well as some elderly people, but it is the very young who have been the most vulnerable, 22 dying in the past three weeks. That is a large number from about 500 refugees living in the open with just trees for cover from the sudden torrential rains.

There are not even the most rudimentary shelters of branches and leaves one sees among the dispossessed of Darfur. These people do not want to be seen, they are too frightened of being hunted down. Most have been burnt out of their villages by the Janjaweed Arab militia and government troops, or have abandoned them in fear of impending attacks.

Unlike other refugees they have yet to make the trek to the vast camps that have sprung up in the region because the roads are not considered safe. They have been attacked by the militia, on horses and camels. The last time they tried to make the journey three men were killed.

Refugees live and die without shelter in the land where aid agencies fear to tread....

***

Mortality note. Since commenting upon Reeves' latest mortality update, I ran accross one news story that claimed that such predictions, and the numbers based upon USAID projections were inaccurate (UN says 363 deaths recorded in Darfur camps in 5 weeks. However, there were no confirmations of the story, and after searching WHO, including the latest situation reports for Darfur, I have been unable to find the WHO bulletin which was cited by the reporter, or any document that would confirm those numbers.

The mortality rate among this group as reported by Sengupta is indeed alarming, and suggests that the USAID forecast may be correct.

[struggle4progress]

2. Malaria Adds to Darfur’s Woes, Say UN Officials

Emmanuel Braun
Reuters, Arab News

SISI, Chad, 18 August 2004 — Marauding Arab militias in Sudan’s Darfur region continue to prey on refugees and are crossing into Chad to steal cattle and kill civilians, UN officials and Chadian villagers said yesterday. The United Nations also added malaria to the list of threats facing more than a million displaced Sudanese, who are dying at a rate of about 1,000 a day from hunger-related diseases in what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian disaster.
<snip>

http://www.aljazeerah.info/News%20archives/2004%20News%20archives/August/18%20n/Malaria%20Adds%20to%20Darfurs%20Woes,%20Say%20UN%20Officials.htm


Darfur Tension Decreases, but Struggle for Life Continues
08.17.2004 Tuesday

<snip>
The Sudanese government is hampering journalists' and aid organizations' access to the region. Journalists trying to get into the region are told by the government to register at the press offices, where their credentials will be checked by the intelligence services. Officials say that it could take 10-15 days before journalists are given permission to enter the region.

A few journalists who received permission to go to Darfur returned without having been granted access to any of the camps in the region. For instance, Kalma camp in the city of Niyala has been closed to outsiders since last Friday (August 13); no one knows when journalists and aid workers will be able to visit the camp. Nearly 80,000 refugees in the camp struggle for their life daily. Many of the problems in the Darfur region manifest themselves in Kalma.

The infant mortality rate is the major concern in Darfur. Diarrhea and malaria are taking their toll. Tankers bring water to the region, but food cannot be provided on a regular basis. Aid provided by health organizations and governmental organizations is inadequate. The United Nations (UN) Children Education Fund (UNICEF) provides educational courses, and security is still a major concern in the region.
<snip>

http://www.zaman.org/?bl=international&alt=&trh=20040817&hn=11528

[slojim240]

3. It is so complex and terrible but you must watch the C-Span program

form today. I learned a lot about this situation. It is mind boggeling.

[gottaB]

4. link, also a link to Deng's online chat from the Washington Post

rtsp://video.c-span.org/15days/e081804_sudan.rm

http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/zforum/04/sp_world_deng081804.htm