KHARTOUM, Sudan - A woman who says she is the Canadian kidnapped in Sudan's Darfur's region has told a French news agency that she's alive and well.
The woman, who identified herself as Stephanie Jodoin, spoke with Agence France-Presse, or AFP, via satellite phone Sunday.
She told the news agency she has been well-treated but doesn't know where she is.
Last week, armed men captured two female foreign aid workers -- a Canadian and a French national -- who worked for French aid group Aide Medicale Internationale. The aid agency and the Canadian government have not identified the women.
On March 26, only days before the kidnapping, the agency released an interview with a Stephanie Jodoin on Relief Web, an informational website for the humanitarian aid community.
In that interview, Jodoin spoke about the work the organization was doing in Sudan.
The agency focused its efforts on delivering primary and preventive medical care to the population, she said, and described the agency's team as consisting of three nurses, a pharmacist, a midwife, a health educator and two other staff members.
She said the agency was looking to add another team in the region.
Jodoin also talked about her own role, saying she's in charge of overseeing supplies and working with officials, community leaders and Sudan's health ministry to explain and expand the agency's role and increase local co-operation.
"It's indispensable that we stay close to the population we work with," she said.
"If this attitude competes with our team's security, it also allows us to reach a maximum of beneficiaries. It's our permanent challenge."
The Foreign Affairs Department in Ottawa has declined comment on the kidnapping, saying only that it is "in touch with the NGO and other relevant parties with a view to securing release of the Canadian as well as the French national."
"Our consular officials are also in contact with the family, who have asked that the media respect their privacy at this time," department spokeswoman Lisa Monette said
