IDPs receive food aid from WFP after five-month suspension in Bentiu

RUBKONA – More than 200,000 internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at the Bentiu IDP camp in Unity State’s Rubkona County have received food rations from the World Food Program (WFP).

This is the first distribution in more than five months after WFP suspended food distribution in June this year. The food distribution took place on Tuesday, November 22, 2023.

The chairperson of Bentiu IDP camp in Unity State, John Tor Riek, said those who received the food aid include the returnees who came back to the country from Sudan following the outbreak of war there in April this year.

Riek said that the food aid was provided for two previous months and that more food is expected to be distributed next month.

“We are grateful to WFP for the food aid,” Riek said. “This will help us to survive until next month.”

One of the beneficiaries, Nyandeng Guol, said she and her family had not had food for five months before the WFP returned with food distribution.

“We are very grateful for the food aid,” she said. “It will help us to feed our children.”

Peter Koang Gai, another resident of Bentiu IDP camp, said he is grateful to WFP for distributing food at the right time.

“We were suffering for a long time without food,” he said. “This food aid will help us to get back on our feet.”

The WFP distribution is a welcome relief for the residents of Bentiu IDP camp, who have been struggling to survive without food for the past five months. Food aid will help them to feed their families and rebuild their lives.

In addition to the food aid, WFP is also providing other essential services to IDPs in Bentiu, such as water, sanitation, and healthcare.