World Food Program in Sudan

  • April 18, 2023
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
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World Food Program in Sudan

Subject International relations

Section: International Organization

Context: Three employees for the World Food Programme (WFP), a UN body that delivers food assistance to vulnerable communities, were killed after the RSF and armed forces exchanged fire at a military base in Kabkabiya, in the west of the country.

What is happening in Sudan?

The fighting that has erupted in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the country is a direct result of a vicious power struggle within the country’s military leadership.

The clashes are between the regular army and a paramilitary force called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Where is Sudan?

  • Sudan is in north-east Africa and is one of the largest countries on the continent, covering 1.9 million square kilometres.
  • It is also one the poorest countries in the world, with its 46 million people living on an average annual income of $750 (£606) a head.
  • The population of Sudan is predominantly Muslim and the country’s official languages are Arabic and English

Who is fighting who in Sudan?

Since the 2021 coup, Sudan has been run by a council of generals, led by the two military men at the centre of this dispute:

  • Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the armed forces and in effect the country’s president
  • And his deputy and leader of the RSF, Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti.

World Food Programme

  • The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.
  • As the international community has committed to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition by 2030, one in nine people worldwide still do not have enough to eat.
  • It was founded in 1961 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) with its headquarters in Rome, Italy.
  • It is also a member of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG), a coalition of UN agencies and organizations aimed at fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
  • The WFP assists 88 countries, and has assisted 97 million people (in 2019) which is the largest number since 2012.
  • It works closely with the other two Rome-based UN agencies:
    • The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which helps countries draw up policy and change legislation to support sustainable agriculture
    • The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which finances projects in poor rural areas.
  • The WFP has no independent source of funds, it is funded entirely by voluntary donations. Its principal donors are governments, but the organization also receives donations from the private sector and individuals.
  • The WFP has been awarded with the Nobel Prize for Peace 2020 for its efforts to combat hunger, bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and preventing the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict.

Report Released by WFP

  • Global Report on Food Crisis– The Global Report on Food Crises describes the scale of acute hunger in the world. It provides an analysis of the drivers that are contributing to food crises across the globe.
    • The report is produced by the Global Network against Food Crises, an international alliance working to address the root causes of extreme hunger.
International Relations World Food Program in Sudan