Sudanese refugees and displaced persons in Firga and Sere Malaga near the disputed Kafia Kinji area have received food and other supplies by air from the UN World Food Programme. An UN aircraft touched down in the remote north-western region of Bahr El Ghazal to deliver 242 kits of non-food items and food for the most vulnerable members of the population.
Two aid organizations, the International Organization for Migration and Médecins Sans Frontières, had requested the flight from WFP which operates a humanitarian air service in South Sudan.
Peter Nenebubu, Raja County Secretary for the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission, upon his return from Firga and Sere Malaga told Radio Tamazuj that his office in collaboration with IOM and MSF delivered 242 bags of different non-food items to the refugees and displaced people who had been left without assistance for six weeks since the last visit by aid agencies.
“The food we took could not be given to all because it is not enough. We gave only to the more vulnerable ones,” he said. The aircraft could not carry a large amount of food because it is too small and the food was not enough for all the suffering people in the area, added Nenebubu.
The county official distanced himself from the criteria for selecting the more needy ones and reported that the chief was responsible for choosing who is more vulnerable. “The situation there is terrible, it is only wild roots that help the people of those areas,” he added.
He explained, however, that there is enough food in stock to deliver to the entire population of Firga and Sere Malaga but no plane to carry it there. The delivery will have to wait until three months from now when dryer weather will make the roads more passable.
Besides the food aid, MSF organization also provided some drugs and gave vaccinations to many children. Most of the children regardless of age had not been vaccinated since their birth. Children from those areas missed several vaccination campaigns due to the bad road network, according to Nenebubu, putting them at risk of polio and other sicknesses.
Firga and Sere Malaga lie near the eastern boundary of Kafia Kinji which is a territory disputed by South Darfur State and Western Bahr El Ghazal State. The United Nations last visited the refugees in this area on 25 July. A team of UN agencies on that assessment mission brought some drugs and nutrition packets but no supplies for the population at large.
Education is another need facing the refugees. Children have no school to attend.
“Many generations come without education and the circle is continuous,” said Nenebubu.
By Godfrey Victor Bulla
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