Over 2 billion needed for aid to Sudan: UN

Nov 20, 2008, 15:47 GMT

Geneva - In spite of Sudan's vast oil reserves, government officials said Thursday it could not pay for the humanitarian aid its citizens need and appealed for 2 billion dollars from the international community.

The African state makes up the largest part of the United Nation's Consolidated Appeals Process, which was launched the day before and requires 7 billion dollars globally.

'We have already secured 620 million' for Sudan, most of it donations of food, said Toby Lanzer, the UN's humanitarian coordinator in the country's north.

The UN said it would seek half the money for food aid, with the rest going to other emergency aid and recovery projects, such as enabling access to clean water, agricultural investments and education initiatives.

In 2005 the warring north and south of Sudan agreed to a peace deal ending two decades of fighting and promising elections in the next year. Much of the money for the southern section would go to rebuilding and enabling the return of refugees.

Another conflict in the country's western Darfur region, an area roughly the size of France, is still ongoing, with some 17,000 aid workers offering assistance.

The UN said attacks on aid conveys were hampering efforts to help communities in need, though the government said it was working to ensure the safety of the humanitarians.

The plan for the upcoming year included better management of natural resources, like water, especially as Sudan faces desertification, the UN said, and 3 million trees would be planted, though ten times that was needed to help the country get back on track.

Haroun Lual, the Sudanese minister for humanitarian affairs, said he expected the UN and African Union peacekeeping mission to Darfur to be fully staffed by June.