Displaced in North Darfur reject reduction of food rations

The displaced living in the Kassab, Fata Borno, and Kutum camps in North Darfur’s Kutum locality reject the reduction of food aid by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) based on a classification study.

“The WFP brought down the food rations in July,” Sheikh El Tahir Ismail told Radio Dabanga from Kassab camp. “They conducted a study in which they classified the displaced into categories and determined the eligible beneficiaries – which should not exceed 20 percent of the total number of camp residents.

“The displaced do not accept the outcome of the study because many names of eligible people disappeared from the list,” Ismail explained. “The Humanitarian Aid Commission also did not distribute food according to the WFP new classification.

“We all demanded a review of the study,” he stressed.

The sheikh added that the displaced have also been hit by drought this year. “Many have not been able to cultivate their farms this season because of the delayed and erratic rainfall.”

He urged the WFP “to speed up the distribution of food rations according to the old lists until a review of the new lists will be conducted in coordination with the camp’s ‘ administration”.

Relief and recovery

Hussein Abu Sharati, Chairman of the Darfur Displaced and Refugees Association, commented that the WFP reclassification of the displaced is based on the transition from emergency relief to protracted relief and recovery operations. “The outcome of the reclassification studies have left large numbers of displaced out of the aid network.”

Abu Sharati urged the international community and donors not to lose its concern for the situation of the displaced in Darfur, and “provide the much-needed food aid to them, in particular now the agricultural season turned out to be a failure”.