An Interagency Assessment Mission to the SPLM-held areas of southern
Sudan in September 2001 found that the food security situation was dire
for many as a result of instability and displacement. In order to meet
the needs of 158,900 people, the assessment team recommended that donors
support an airlift of 3,949 metric tons of cereals, together with a
further 1,173 metric tons of pulses, corn-soya blend (CSB), oil and
salt to complete the food basket for a total of 158,907 beneficiaries.
After much negotiation and complicated logistical arrangements, USAID
succeeded in supporting the airlift of 2,045 tons of food to needy areas
in the Nuba Mountains. This airlift represented the first time in ten
years that food assistance had been made available to the people suffering
in the conflict-ridden Nuba Mountains.
Groundbreaking Nuba Mountains Airlift
