ICRC: Community kitchens bring vital food relief to thousands in North Darfur as humanitarian conditions worsen
Port Sudan, Sudan (PANA) - Thousands of people in North Darfur, Sudan, have started to receive hot meals as hostilities intensify and food shortages spike, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a release it posted on Tuesday.
A war that broke in April 2023 has left millions in need of food assistance and humanitarian aid and shelter. It has become the norm for families to go without food for a day or have one meal a day and this is usually provided by the community kitchen, practice where people bring materials for food, cook the food and share it.
The United Nations estimates that 5 million people urgently need food in Sudan to survive, and 25 million overall need emergency humanitarian assistance.
According to ICRC reporting from Fashir, near the borders with Chad, eight community kitchens are providing two hot meals per day for around 10,000 newly-displaced people in the Zamzam camp, south of Al-Fashir.
Fashir has witnessed severe fighting over several months, disrupting the delivery of essential supplies and forcing tens of thousands of people from their homes.
“Some residents of the camp told us that they are struggling to eat even one meal a day, with nearly no protein, fruits or vegetables,” said Daniel O’Malley, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation in Sudan.
“For many families, the community kitchens are the only way to put food on the table, but they will not be enough to avert a deepening humanitarian crisis.”
Community kitchens are an age-old Sudanese tradition where people come together to cook and share food. The project is being supported by the ICRC and the Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS).
“Now, I feel full – a feeling I have not had for the past seven days. It has been seven months since we had a decent meal here in Zamzam camp,” said Malak Abdalla Ali, a resident of the camp, who fled Al-Fashir as fighting grew closer to her home.
Zamzam camp, established in 2004, is sheltering nearly half a million people and is considered by local communities as the last safe haven in northern Darfur. Food shortages are expected to get worse as newly-displaced families continue to arrive, fleeing the fighting in Al-Fashir. Around one third of the camp’s water points are not functioning while medical supplies are running low.
Early this month both the UN agencies and the US special Envoy to the Sudan, Tom Perriello, said they had received assurances from the government of Sudan that all corridors and airports for delivery of the relief assistance were open.
Hundreds of trucks and tons of food assistance started arriving from Adre on the borders with Chad, from northern Sudan’s port Sudan and from south Sudan via Kadugli, in south Kordufan.
“I appreciated seeing the progress trying to deliver assistance to vulnerable communities throughout the country, “ the US official said following lengthy meetings with the UN agencies in Port Sudan.
Still the ICRC though recognizing the contribution of the community kitchen stressed that the situation was still bad.
“The situation in and around Al-Fashir remains desperate and the civilian population is caught between the fighting sides with little space to maneuver,” added O’Malley.
“We urgently call on the parties to provide humanitarian space, as ensuring civilians receive humanitarian aid and services, is the responsibility of the parties to the conflict.”
-0-PANA MO/RA 19Nov2024
