ABSTRACT
In early October 1988 a second devastating report, prepared by MSF-France, this time enabled Taft to change completely the focus of disaster assistance to Sudan. USAID was finally in a position to provide more food aid when the 25,000 tons of US sorghum ordered in spring 1988 began to arrive in Port Sudan in November. They urged the administration to devote its attention to the terrible tragedy and made it abundantly clear that a continuation of the present policy would no longer be tolerated on Capitol Hill. The relief flights made headlines in Al-Khartoum, albeit with little in-depth reporting; Al-Siyassa reported the purpose of the program but mistakenly described it as a United Nations initiative. The latter report noted that "as early as 1986, the United States opened discussions with the Sudanese Relief and Rehabilitation Association, the relief arm of the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement, to review the possibility of American PVOs providing assistance into the south.
