Food rations that were recently reduced by half for more than 3 million people in Sudan will be increased to 84 per cent of minimum daily requirements from June to September in the war-torn Darfur region thanks to new donations to the United Nations World Food Programme emergency operation, but more aid is still needed.
At the beginning of May, the United States announced it would divert to Sudan food aid shipments valued at $46.2 million. Other donors, including Canada, the European Commission, Australia, Germany and Denmark, have also offered funds and pledges which, together with an announced Sudanese contribution of cereal, will enable WFP to raise the number of kilocalories per person per day in Darfur to 1,770 (the minimum daily requirement is 2,100 kilocalories).