The World Food Programme has begun evacuating its employees from Sudan, spokesperson Steve Taravella tells me, a move the agency was forced to take as fighting remains elevated across the country. Due to security concerns, Taravella wouldn’t provide any additional information about how they were being removed from the country or where to — or who was being included in the evacuation. (In other such recent cases, foreign nationals have been prioritized over local national staff of international organizations and their families.)
Joyce Msuya, U.N. assistant secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and deputy emergency relief coordinator, told the United Nations Security Council in a briefing Tuesday that even before April 15, “humanitarian needs in Sudan were at a record high.” She said one-third of the population needed aid, and 4 million children and pregnant and lactating women were malnourished.
Devex Dish: WFP’s ‘priority’ in Sudan is getting staff out