December 5, Nairobi — There have been serious problems in the United Nation World Food Program’s (WFP) response to the Sudan crisis, hampering the organization’s ability to provide food aid and receive donations, an internal report seen by Reuters said.
The WFP is the UN’s main food-aid distributor and the report was the result of an assessment in July and August by the WFP’s Regional Emergency Coordination team. The report identifies a range of problems in its Sudan response, including an inability to scale up operations, missed funding opportunities and what it describes as “anti-fraud challenges.”
“The WFP’s reputation for rapid emergency response has been damaged,” the report said. “Key stakeholders, including key donors, are now demanding concrete progress before committing additional funding.”
The report also said that the Sudan office’s initial target of reaching 8..4 million people in need of aid was “deemed unrealistic” and posed a “reputation risk” to the WFP. It said that current projections suggest the WFP might have only fulfilled around 50 percent of its current implementation plan by October.
The report said that it “excessively high operational costs irrespective of the quantities distributed” in agreements between the WFP and its food-distribution partners. In August, Reuters also reported that the WFP is investigating two of its top officials in Sudan over allegations including fraud and canceling information from donors about its ability to deliver aid.
The Emergency Coordination team also detailed delays in reporting and addressing “anti-fraud and anti-corruption” incidents. In August there were nearly 200 cases overdue or still pending “posing reputational and operational risks.”