The World Food Programme (WFP) said the humanitarian air service which flies aid workers to critical areas in Sudan will continue till the end of September thanks to a fast response by donors.
"These donations have arrived just in time. Our passengers -- relief workers from more than 200 aid organizations operating in Sudan -- would be unable to do their vital work without WFP-HAS," WFP Representative in Sudan Kenro Oshidari said in a statement on Monday.
The agency said five donors stepped forward with contributions totaling 14.8 million U.S. dollars immediately after it announced service cuts on June 10, and warned that the Humanitarian Air Service (HAS) it runs in Sudan risked being grounded due to a severe lack of funds.
The statement said the United States donated 4 million dollars. Another 4 million dollars came from the UN Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF) for Sudan and 3.8 million dollars from the European Commission.
WFP said 2.5 million dollars was received from Canada and 500,000 dollars from the US-based Annenberg Foundation. Additional pledges are also expected in the next two months.
"The air service is especially important at this time of year, when the rains make most roads impassable. Added to that, banditry and insecurity have made it too dangerous for humanitarians to travel by road in many parts of Darfur -- for example, each month an average of 3,000 aid workers are flown to the deep field in Darfur on WFP-HAS helicopters," Oshidari said.
While Oshidari thanked donors, he stressed that the service cuts must remain in place and warned that WFP-HAS has no funds confirmed beyond September, meaning it still risks closure in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Early this month, the WFP said the ability of 14,000 aid workers to travel to Darfur and other parts of Sudan will be reduced with immediate effect due to a lack of funding for the HAS.
The WFP said its air service needs an infusion of 20 million dollars by June 15 to avoid some of the cuts and maintain full service through the coming months.
Source: Xinhua
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