Washington, D.C. — U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Andrew S. Natsios leaves Saturday on a 7-day mission to assess humanitarian needs in northern and southern Sudan. "We have an emerging drought," said USAID Acting Assistant Administrator for Africa, Keith E. Brown, referring to the Red Sea Hills, central and western Sudan.
The USAID administrator is going to Sudan "to assess the severity of the drought in the north and the conflict in the south," said Brown. He will also visit the south, "to assess prospects for development interventions in nongovernmental areas."
Between the 14th and the 18th, in addition to talks with government officials, and others in the north, Natsios will visit drought-afflicted areas where, according to UNICEF, the situation is "fast approaching that of the mid-80s and early-90s when water, food and pasture shortages in the drought belt led to a great number of deaths of people and livestock, large-scale [population] displacements and tribal conflicts,"
Natsios approved the diversion of a U.S. ship with 14,700 metric tons of wheat to Port Sudan for use in drought-battered northern sections of the country. "It is not our intention to let drought emerge. Lives can be saved with early intervention," said Brown.
The administration has changed policy with regard to aid to the north, said Brown. Before, only people in war-affected areas of the north could receive U.S. humanitarian assistance. Mr. Natsios, who is also Special Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, "will emphasize to all parties that the U.S. has a policy of neutrality with regard to humanitarian assistance," explained Brown. "North or south, assistance will be based on need."
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Natsios will be holding discussions with Khartoum government officials, southern NGOs and community groups as well as the rebel SPLA. According to Roger Winter, Director of USAID's Office of Disaster Relief, he will "spend about 50 percent of the time in the north and about 50 percent of the time in the south."
"This is not a political mission," stressed Winter noting that the Bush administration is still trying to find a Special Envoy to Sudan to address the knot of political issues that have torn relations between Khartoum and Washington. "But there cannot be a true solution to the humanitarian aspects [of Sudan's difficulties] until there is a just peace," said Winter.
Although he acknowledged that Natsios had an "agenda" of U.S. concerns for discussion, he resisted detailing it. "There are important issues. If in fact your doctrine is going to not just be neutral, but focus on people who are truly vulnerable and need assistance, you will need accesses. There is an agenda of issues like that but we're not in a position to roll through them here."
"Improvement" of the way humanitarian assistance is given is also on the agenda. The assistance program has operated over a long period of time, but "people still die for reasons that could be addressed by humanitarian programming," said Winter.
Upon return to Washington he expects development of a "package of responses to what we see as gaps or shortcomings in the current program."
