U.N. cuts Sudan food aid due to lack of funds

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

U2Girl1978

Blue Crack Addict
Joined
Jan 14, 2005
Messages
19,366
Location
At the altar of the dark star
This is sad. I apologize if this was posted somewhere else but I didn't see it.

‘It is scandalous, but we have no choice,’ official says; donor fatigue cited

GENEVA - The United Nations said on Friday it would cut food rations for more than 6 million people in Sudan, half of them in Darfur, due to a severe lack of funds.

Many donor countries appear to have tired of the long-term conflict in Darfur, despite signs that malnutrition is again on the rise among people living in squalid camps, the United Nations’ World Food Program (WFP) said.

WFP said it was halving food aid from the minimum daily requirement of 2,100 calories to 1,050 calories as of May.

“This is one of the hardest decisions I have ever made. Haven’t the people of Darfur suffered enough? Aren’t we adding insult to injury?” WFP executive director James Morris said.

“This is a measure we should simply never have to take,” said Morris, who heads the world’s largest food aid agency, feeding 90 million people worldwide.

Simply not enough aid
The Rome-based agency had only received $238 million or 32 percent of its annual appeal of $746 million for Sudan. Africa’s largest country is emerging from civil war in the south as talks continue on a peace deal to end a conflict in Darfur.

Spokeswoman Christiane Berthiaume told a news briefing, “It is scandalous, but we have no choice.”

Fighting erupted in Darfur in 2003 when mostly non-Arab tribes took up arms over land and water resources, accusing the government of neglect. Khartoum is accused of arming mainly Arab militia who began a murder, rape, and looting campaign that killed tens of thousands and uprooted more than 2 million.

“There is probably some donor fatigue. The conflict has been going on a long time. And there is no solution in sight,” Berthiaume said.

The United States was the largest donor at $188 million, it said, while Italy was the only major European country to contribute so far ($1.2 million).

“WFP is particularly concerned about the effect of reduced rations in Darfur, where rampant insecurity continues to cause enormous suffering,” WFP said in a statement.

The U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has already reported increased malnutrition rates in the region this year.

The WFP said the cuts would allow limited food stocks to last longer into the annual “hunger season”, from July to September, when needs are greatest ahead of the harvest.

The WFP estimates that 2,100 calories a day is the minimum daily requirement needed to stay in good health.
 
Like I have always said Fuck the UN. I can't believe they are going to let the people of Sudan suffer. I wan't the UN off US soil. Let them setup in Sudan or any poor nation and not some rich well off nation.
 
because the situation in Darfur is all the UN's fault and they're the only ones responsible for stopping the violence. :rolleyes:

the US plays a large role in how the UN handles situations, despite its recent desire to completely withdraw from the realm of international law. it's still a permanent member with the power of veto.
 
The European Union should be ashamed of themselves in this instance. Absolutely ashamed.

ETA: It looks like since Jan 2005, the US has given $188 million and Canada has given $25 million (and our government should be ashamed for cutting funding), so how do the Europeans excuse Italy being the largest donor with $1.2 million? It's truly shameful.
 
Last edited:
And humanity continues to act as humans have always acted.
 
Justin24 said:
Like I have always said Fuck the UN. I can't believe they are going to let the people of Sudan suffer. I wan't the UN off US soil. Let them setup in Sudan or any poor nation and not some rich well off nation.

You and Bolton have something in common.

Has the UN made mistakes, absolutely.

But this is a little extreme. Disolving the UN will put us back decades...
 
I doubt it, the UN is equally as good as it's lowest common denominator, hence having peacekeepers involved in human traffic, drug running, child rape and bestiality.

The moves in recent years to control the internet and introduce conventions against free speech would be frightening if the thing wasn't so damn inept.
 
Last edited:
A_Wanderer said:
I doubt it, the UN is equally as good as it's lowest common denominator, hence having peacekeepers involved in human traffic, drug running, child rape and bestiality.

The moves in recent years to control the internet and introduce conventions against free speech would be frightening if the thing wasn't so damn inept.

Same can be said for any government...
 
Yes, and when you want to put all the range in the world then your baseline is the very bottom.

The UN is a waste of time - or really money and resources -, it was useless in the Cold War and it is useless Post Cold-War, perhaps it may be a little bit worse than useless at times.
 
Last edited:
A_Wanderer said:
Yes, and when you want to put all the range in the world then your baseline is the very bottom.

The UN is a waste of time, it was useless in the Cold War and it is useless Post Cold-War.

So we should dismiss all the good that the US has done as well, with that logic...:|
 
The good that it is doing in the Sudan :eyebrow: or how about what it accomplished in Somalia?

There will never be a strong UN mandated force protecting these people, for at least two permanent security council members it is more valuable to let them die.
 
Last edited:
verte76 said:
It would help if they'd abolish the damn veto power of the Security Council members. I don't see what that's accomplishing.

Actually, that is what keeps the UN together. And helps maintain a degree of sovereignty for the countries.
 
anitram said:
The European Union should be ashamed of themselves in this instance. Absolutely ashamed.

ETA: It looks like since Jan 2005, the US has given $188 million and Canada has given $25 million (and our government should be ashamed for cutting funding), so how do the Europeans excuse Italy being the largest donor with $1.2 million? It's truly shameful.

But it's not anti-Bush so it gets the low-key treatment in here.

Remember the Tsunami hysteria and how we were all over Bush's case because he didn't commit more $$$in the few days after it hit ?

As for the UN, less said the better. Waste of time, money and space. As corrupt as the 3rd world governments it purports to aid
 
anitram said:
The European Union should be ashamed of themselves in this instance. Absolutely ashamed.

ETA: It looks like since Jan 2005, the US has given $188 million and Canada has given $25 million (and our government should be ashamed for cutting funding), so how do the Europeans excuse Italy being the largest donor with $1.2 million? It's truly shameful.

For as far as I know, the amount of funding is up to the individual member states of the EU so it's kind of silly to blame "Europeans" for Italy's low contributions. I do agree though, that the West in general has been slacking in Sudan, but I guess that's what you get when there's little to gain politically and economically. :down:
 
Wait a minute, did you just say that Italy's the largest donor with 1.2 million? That can't be right; The Netherlands alone have just increased their contributions to 30 million euros. :scratch:
 
Um there was an article I saw which listed Norway, Ireland and then Italy as the next big 3 contributers after the US and Canada....no figures were given...anyone have anything more accurate?
 
The UN sucks!!!
Just look at Rwanda.
And the US sucks as well...
An "Arab Militia" is who is causing this????
This would be Bush's golden opportunity to go after real Arab terrorists instead of wasting time in Iraq.
Shame.
 
nbcrusader said:
Back to the US as the party to blame?

And the EU, and the Janjawed, and the Sudanese gov't, and the African Union, and ultimately, each and everyone of us who have refused to hold our governments accountable to keep our word of "never again."
How long....?
 
tab.gif
 
Harry Vest said:
The UN sucks!!!
Just look at Rwanda.
And the US sucks as well...
An "Arab Militia" is who is causing this????
This would be Bush's golden opportunity to go after real Arab terrorists instead of wasting time in Iraq.
Shame.

Well, since CANADA, France and Germany have no troops on the ground in Iraq and have done almost nothing to help the situation there, perhaps they should be trying to do something in Sudan?:sexywink:
 
Back
Top Bottom