Action Against Hunger receives notice to leave from the Government: Concerns mount over the fate of millions of people dependent on humanitarian assistance
On Wednesday, 4th March, authorities in northern Sudan ordered the global humanitarian organisation Action Against Hunger / Action contre la Faim (ACF) to leave Darfur. With registrations revoked, ACF's offices in Khartoum were sealed off and the organisation's programmes brought to a halt. ACF deplores this decision, expressing grave concern for the fate of the millions of displaced Sudanese whose lives depend on the lifelines provided by the international community in North Sudan.
ACF has been present in Sudan since 1985, running programmes in food assistance and treatment of malnutrition, as well as providing access to water and sanitation. In 2008, ACF provided assistance to around 450,000 people in Sudan, 80% of which were in Darfur. ACF distributed 800,000 food rations and almost 10,000 tonnes of food in this region, where almost 2.5 million people survive primarily thanks to humanitarian assistance. In addition, 100,000 people in Darfur benefitted from water, sanitation and hygiene programmes.
"If ACF is forced to discontinue these activities, 450,000 people will be immediately deprived of emergency assistance and left without food and water," says Francois Danel, Executive Director of ACF's French headquarters in Paris.
Action Against Hunger joins its colleague organiaations in calling on the Sudanese authorities to respect humanitarian principles in order to avoid placing millions of people in a disastrous situation. The aid provided by the ten NGOs that have been expelled represents 60 - 80% of the total humanitarian aid that reaches Darfur. With the expulsion of these international organisations, the fate of millions are put in jeopardy.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
Action Against Hunger (ACF) is an international humanitarian network, working in 43 of the world's poorest countries. Its vocation is to save lives, especially those of malnourished children, and to work with vulnerable populations to preserve and restore their livelihoods with dignity. www.aahuk.org
For more information, please contact:
Christine Kahmann: c.kahmann@aahuk.org / 020 8293 6197
Sophie Noonan: s.noonan@aahuk.org / 020 8293 6190
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
A supporter of Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir holds a traditional Arab sword and chants slogans during a protest against the International Criminal Court's (ICC) arrest warrant for al-Bashir, in Khartoum ...
