WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced an additional $86 million in food assistance through the UN World Food Program (WFP) to help feed millions of displaced and food-insecure people in Sudan. Of the $86 million, $75 million will be used to provide more than 69,000 metric tons of U.S. food and $11 million to provide food vouchers and support the local procurement of specialized nutrition products. The new contribution brings the total U.S. Government contribution of food assistance for Sudan to $170 million this year.

 

In Sudan, approximately 4 million people-including displaced populations and food-insecure Sudanese-are in need of critical food and nutrition assistance. USAID's contribution of U.S. food will help meet these emergency needs, restore livelihoods and strengthen self-reliance among beneficiaries. Through December 2015, WFP plans to reach 2.3 million people with general food distributions and nearly 715,000 through food-for-assets and food-for-training activities, helping to create or restore community infrastructure and providing skills training and support to help boost household incomes. WFP will also reach more than half a million vulnerable children and pregnant and lactating women with nutritional support and approximately 1 million children through school feeding activities. 

 

The additional $11 million will enable WFP to continue providing voucher assistance, targeting nearly 600,000 internally displaced persons in Darfur. Through the use of food vouchers, beneficiaries have the freedom to choose from as many as 14 different food items-such as fresh eggs and dried tomatoes-increasing their dietary diversity and offering foods that are more in line with local preferences. USAID's cash contribution will support the purchase of more than 103 metric tons of locally produced specialized nutrition products to prevent and treat malnutrition in children under age 5.

 

For more than 50 years, USAID has partnered with WFP to help strengthen food security in Sudan and remains the largest donor of food assistance in the country.