UNITED NATIONS, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations and partners in Sudan set out on Thursday to reach as many people as possible with aid where the ceasefire is respected, UN humanitarians said.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said about 20 trucks carrying supplies from the UN Children's Fund and the International Organization for Migration were dispatched to different parts of Sudan.
The humanitarian partners were ready earlier in the week to move 168 trucks to reach more than 4 million people nationwide, OCHA said. Still, security conditions were not allowing for a full-scale operation. Dispatchers were only able to release a few trucks on relief assignments.
The World Food Programme (WFP) said it reached more than 500,000 people in nine states with food and nutrition support since restarting distributions about three weeks ago. WFP also plans to distribute relief in Central Darfur and Northern State.
On Wednesday, trucks loaded with WFP food aid arrived in Wadi Halfa. In Port Sudan on Thursday, WFP started providing food to about 4,000 newly arrived displaced people.
According to UN agencies, six newborn babies died at a hospital in the city of Eld'aeen in East Darfur in just one week recently due to problems including lack of oxygen amid electricity blackouts, OCHA reported.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said more than 30 newborns have died at the hospital since the start of the fighting on April 15. WHO is in touch with healthcare providers to see what support it can provide. ■
