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Transcript/ScriptSUDAN AID ACCESS HEADLINE: Community soup kitchens feed Sudan’s starving as aid access blocked
TEASER: Major donors have called on both warring sides to allow aid into crisis-hit parts of the country
PUBLISHED AT: 10/29/2024 at 10:06pm
BYLINE: Henry Wilkins CONTRIBUTOR: DATELINE: London, United Kingdom VIDEOGRAPHER: Henry Wilkins VIDEO EDITOR: Henry Wilkins ASSIGNING EDITOR: Sonya Laurence Green SCRIPT EDITORS: Mia Bush, Decherd VIDEO SOURCE (S): PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_ TRT: 3:02 VID APPROVED BY: wpm TYPE: TVR EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRO))
[[In war-stricken Omdurman, Sudan's most populous city, community-funded soup kitchens are feeding those in need with little help from the international community. As one part of Sudan faces famine, the world's first in seven years, the U.S. and others have called on the warring sides to allow unfettered access for aid groups. Henry Wilkins reports.]]
((NARRATOR))
When the fighting started in Omdurman, Sudan’s most populous city, Ahid Mahmoud Ali refused to flee. He said he would rather die in his home than suffer the pain of long-term displacement.
Along with other members of the community, they pooled their resources and began cooking and sharing meals for those who remained in the city.
((Ahid Mahmoud Ali, Community Leader (in Arabic)))
“Because we have very few resources, we created a WhatsApp group and a Facebook page, and we also have TikTok and started trying to spread awareness of what we were doing. Then, we started receiving donations from the Sudanese diaspora abroad.”
((NARRATOR))
With the city’s economy in a state of collapse, since Sudan’s war started in April 2023, Ali says his makeshift soup kitchen now feeds 200 families every day, thanks to private donations. Others like it have sprung up across the city, with almost no support from international aid groups.
An October statement by 11 of the world’s biggest humanitarian donors, including USAID, says both sides in the conflict are obstructing aid groups’ access to cities like Omdurman.2
It says, “Systematic obstruction of local and international humanitarian efforts is at the root of this famine.”
One part of Sudan is undergoing the world’s first famine in seven years,3 while large swathes of the country are one step away from falling into famine.4
In an interview with VOA, Sudan’s finance minister said aid groups are being given all the access they need.
((Gibril Ibrahim, Minister of Finance (in English, 12 secs)))
“Yes, of course, they have the access. You can talk to them. Actually, no one has obstructed their movements.”
((NARRATOR))
VOA spoke to Refugees International, an advocacy group for displaced people that partners with various international aid groups.
((For radio: Daniel Sullivan is director for Africa, Asia and the Middle East at the organization))
((Mandatory Courtesy: Zoom))
((Daniel Sullivan, Refugees International (in English, 25 secs)))
“To claim that international NGOs and U.N. agencies have all the access they need is blatantly false. I’ve spoken to many partner groups that are working on the ground, whether it’s the direct blatant blocking of aid or the slow rolling of visas and other bureaucratic impediments, clearly people who are working on the ground do not feel they have the access they need.”
((Mandatory Courtesy: AFP / RSF))
((NARRATOR))
The opposing side in Sudan’s conflict, the Rapid Support Forces, did not respond to a request for comment.
U.N. experts have said that due to the lack of access for traditional aid groups, soup kitchens like Ali’s are leading the way for the delivery of food aid in Sudan.5
But Ali says aid groups need to help.
((Ahid Mahmoud Ali, Community Leader (in Arabic, 10 secs)))
“I ask God Almighty to help us reach [international aid groups]. Reaching these organizations is very important.”
((NARRATOR))
He says he is only able to serve one meal a day for those who arrive on his doorstep.
((Henry Wilkins, VOA News, Omdurman, Sudan))
NetworkVOA
BylineHenry Wilkins
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
