Kalma stuck in deadlock as Garsila camps complete WFP registration

Three internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Garsila, Ardaba, Jeddah and El Jebelayn have successfully completed the registration process required by the World Food Programme (WFP) to access food assistance. A camp leader for Garsila announced the first estimates of people living at the camps as 36,800. All newborns from 2005 to 2012 were also recorded. He said the inventory process ended without any obstacles and with the full cooperation of camp leaders, the Humanitarian Aid Commission and the WFP. Initially the leader said there had been fears prior to registration that IDPs may be asked to return to their villages but the WFP assured them that the Doha peace agreement and government agencies were not involved in their work.Deadlock in Kalma, 150 days without provisions Kalma IDP camp in South Darfur has now spent five months without food assistance following the deadlock over disagreements between IDPs and the WFP on linking the registration process to food aid. A number of IDPs told Radio Dabanga the situation is deteriorating because of the lack of access to the camp’s share of food provisions from the WFP. The camp’s humanitarian coordinator said that diseases relating to malnutrition are spreading, particulary amongst children, women and the elderly. He said he ‘feared a real disaster unfolding at the camp due to the ongoing reluctance of the WFP to provide aid without registration.’ The coordinator called on the international organisations to pressure the WFP to respond to their needs without prior registration processes.