Today, the World Bank announced the provision of $ 2 million in support to the Sudanese Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources to strengthen rains forecasting and early warning systems for Nile floods.
The Sudanese News Agency reported that Mr. Yasser Abbas, Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources in Sudan, met today with Mr. Othman Dion, the Regional Director of the World Bank, and Mr. Milena Estefnova, the Bank’s Country Director in Sudan, at their request, to discuss providing support in the field of assessing the effects of floods and rehabilitating water systems.
During the meeting, World Bank officials heard detailed explanations about the floods and the events that accompanied them.
For his part, Mr. Osman Dion announced that a technical team from the bank will visit Sudan to find out the actual needs and how to implement the support as soon as possible, and discussions were also held on a number of future projects to increase the safety of water harvesting dams and install radars to measure rain in Sudan.
Earlier, the European Union and the World Bank signed, today, an agreement to provide $ 110 million for the family support program called “fruits”, which supports Sudanese families with direct cash transfers to alleviate Sudan’s economic difficulties, in addition to $ 78.2 million from France, Germany Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden to finance the program, bringing the total contribution of European partners to the family support program to nearly US $ 190 million.
Dr. Heba Mohamed Ali Ahmed, Sudanese Minister of Finance, explained that the “fruits” program to support families is an important part of the reform program implemented by her country’s transitional government and seeks to alleviate some of the economic challenges currently facing the Sudanese in all parts of the country, including rural areas, especially Poorest women and families, and it will help strengthen a durable social safety net and increase financial inclusion.
On the fifth of September, the Security and Defense Council in Sudan declared a state of emergency in the country for a period of three months, due to the rains and floods that killed 100 people and affected more than 730 thousand people between June and September, and it is expected that the number of people suffering from Food insecurity to 9.6 million.
