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The Sustainable Development Goals in Sudan
The Sustainable Development Goals are a global call to action to end poverty, protect the earth’s environment and climate, and ensure that people everywhere can enjoy peace and prosperity. These are the goals the UN is working on in Sudan:
Story
03 August 2022
From seeds to life - my visit to South Darfur
While looking across fields of abundance and imminent harvest, it is important to remember that they grew from tiny seeds that were planted and nurtured by their planters and rain, and, in South Darfur, protected from destruction to allow them to grow.
Having visited South Darfur together with UN senior officials on 1 August, the importance of the harvest cannot be understated. People’s livelihoods depend on agriculture and livestock production, with the main crops cultivated including sorghum, millet, groundnut, sesame and hibiscus. However, the combined effects of crises from the economic downturn, climate change (including erratic rains last year) and conflict are significantly affecting people’s access to food in Sudan: 22 per cent of the population in the state face food insecurity.
To counter this, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) received 12 million in funding from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support local food production in 14 states across Sudan, including in South Darfur, where 110,000 people are receiving support. This includes quality sorghum seeds to improve household grain production and strengthen resilience around food security and nutrition.
During my visit to South Darfur, I was able to see the distribution of seeds and talk to the communities that had received and planted them. I was also able to see the work being carried out by other UN agencies and humanitarian organizations to reduce the population’s vulnerability to food insecurity.
The community leaders with whom I spoke were very grateful for the seeds and the support they had received – they are expecting a good harvest – but they also uniformly told me that their main need now is for the protection of their crops. They also communicated that they would like even earlier support as well as crop-related equipment and maintenance.
I was particularly pleased to speak to women representatives about the importance of securing crops and their protection, who spoke of the need for training and capacity building for women in professions like agriculture.
A key challenge is tensions between farmers and herders regarding the use of grazing land. They need to share. In previous years - due mainly to climatic reasons - herders have moved earlier in the year from north to south in Darfur, which has caused disruptions to farming. This is why it is so important that Crop Protection Committees function across Darfur, where the different community representatives - including women - can discuss and agree on ways forward that are mutually beneficial to herders and farmers.
One step in the right direction has been the initial demarcation of migratory routes by the authorities in South Darfur, which allows farmers and herders to know where herders’ cattle will be grazed. However, more still needs to be done. Protection is key, especially for women who are exposed to the risk of Sexual and Gender Based Violence when going to their farms.
I was glad to be able to witness the transformational impact of the support provided by UN and humanitarian organizations, and I would like to thank our generous CERF donors for their vital contributions.
The seeds that were given to communities in South Darfur through humanitarian funds have the power to change the lives of tens of thousands, so never underestimate the power of planting a seed.
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Press Release
16 July 2022
UNHCR and WHO join hands to improve access to health for refugees in Sudan
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and WHO, the World Health Organization, signed a Letter of Understanding on 06 July 2022 to enhance health services for refugees and host communities in Sudan. Building on a 2020 Global Memorandum of Understanding, the agreement enacts the two agencies’ first national comprehensive partnership beyond emergency responses.
Sudan’s health system is buckling under several recurrent crises, with the current situation further exacerbating health and nutrition conditions for refugees and the communities which host them. Areas where refugees live often have limited health infrastructure and suffer shortages of medical personnel and supplies.
“We are glad to make official our continuing collaboration at a time when multiple emergencies and the ongoing economic crisis are undermining a fragile health system,” said Dr. Ni’ma Saeed Abid, WHO representative in Sudan. “The Sudanese health system will also benefit from the know-how and from our renewed joint efforts towards health for all,” Abid added.
The UN agencies will also strengthen their advocacy to Sudan’s government on key health issues affecting refugees, such as their full access to national health services.
“Health is a fundamental right for everyone. This agreement will help us support refugees access vital health services in the country,” said Axel Bisschop, UNHCR’s Representative in Sudan. “Increasing access to healthcare for forcibly displaced populations is one of the pledges Sudan made at the Global Refugee Forum in 2019. Therefore, this agreement is a good opportunity for UNHCR to continue its support to Sudan in meeting their commitments,” Bisschop added.
Among the main joint achievements in 2022, UNHCR and WHO supported early warning systems to detect potential disease outbreaks in a timely manner, in order to effect swift action and avoid further spread. The agencies continue to provide medicines and medical supplies to primary health facilities in refugee locations across the country, with about 32 such facilities also accessible by local populations.
The new partnership defines UNHCR and WHO roles and strategic areas of collaboration, maximizing coordination — including with national authorities — and optimising resources when responding to refugee influxes and other emergencies affecting both refugees and Sudanese.
Sudan hosts one of the largest refugee populations in Africa. As of 31 May 2022, over 1.1 million refugees are hosted in the country, mainly from South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and the Central African Republic.
END
For more information, please contact:
Dr. Salim Mohamednour, WHO/Khartoum, mohamednours@who.int
Giulia Raffaelli, UNHCR/Khartoum, Mob: +249 91 216 7016 raffaelg@unhcr.org
Faith Kasina, UNHCR/Nairobi, Mob: +254 113 427 094 kasina@unhcr.org
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Story
01 June 2022
FAO scales up response to soaring acute food insecurity exacerbated by potential impacts of the war in Ukraine
Rome – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is intensifying efforts to address soaring acute food insecurity in the Sudan which is driven by the combined impacts of armed conflict, drought, COVID-19, low production of key staple crops related to infestation by pests and diseases, and economic turmoil.
According to the FAO Humanitarian Response Plan 2022 for the Sudan, 10.9 million people or 30 percent of Sudanese are expected to need life‑sustaining support in 2022, the highest number in the past decade.
In response to the dire food security situation - a situation which risks being further exacerbated by the cascading effects of the Ukraine conflict, FAO has launched a new project funded by the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which aims to restore the food security and nutrition of affected farming and pastoral communities in the Sudan through provision of emergency agriculture and livestock supplies.
This vital $12 million contribution from CERF - the largest single allocation to FAO by CERF to date - will support urgent efforts to build the resilience of resource-poor farmers and pastoralists in the Sudan’s 14 most severely affected counties.
“This generous contribution from CERF means that FAO can urgently provide essential agricultural inputs to vulnerable farming households before the main agriculture season starts in June. It will ensure that they can produce enough food to meet their needs for the months to come,” said Babagana Ahmadu, FAO Representative to the Sudan.
Responding to crises and building resilience
The project will target 180 000 households or 900 000 people among the most vulnerable farming and pastoralist communities including internally displaced people, returnees, refugees and resident households. With two‑thirds of the population living in the Sudan’s rural areas, providing smallholder farmers with agricultural support is essential to the humanitarian response.
The project covers both agricultural and livestock assistance, which aims at rapidly reducing dependence on emergency food assistance and provides a basis for medium- and longer-term recovery. This assistance includes the provision of certified crop, legume and vegetable seeds, donkey ploughs and hand tools, veterinary vaccines and drugs, animal protein-rich concentrate feed, and mineral licks; as well as donkey carts and productive animals. It also includes provision of cash and the rehabilitation of community productive assets such as small-scale water infrastructure, hafirs, pasture and other.
The situation looks grim for millions as the war in Ukraine is causing further spikes in food prices, as the Sudan is dependent on wheat imports from the Black Sea region. Interruption to the flow of grain into the Sudan will increase prices and make it more difficult to import wheat. Currently, local prices of wheat are at over $550 per tonne – an increase of 180 percent compared with the same period in 2021.
Furthermore, the current high prices for fertilizers on global markets will inevitably weigh in Sudan’s ability to import, potentially jeopardising the country’s ongoing and upcoming crops.
For these reasons, this CERF allocation is timely and vital. In addition, FAO urgently needs another $35 million to ensure adequate support for two million vulnerable farming and pastoral households to produce their own food, keep their livestock alive and productive, strengthening their resilience.
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Story
23 February 2022
Nutrition lays the groundwork for peace
By Leni Kinzli
Conflict breeds hunger, it destroys livelihoods, disrupts basic services such as healthcare and education, and forces people from their homes.
Mohammed should know – he was forced to flee his village in eastern Sudan after conflict broke out in 1994 between the East Sudan Front and the Sudanese Government.
“Besides our family becoming separated, the most difficult thing was leaving our homes and village and not knowing when we would return,” says Mohammed.
The signing of the Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement in 2006 brought an end to conflict but not to hunger. Today, Mohammed’s village of Tahadai Osis is one of the most food-insecure places in eastern Sudan, where over 65 percent of children are affected by stunting (impaired growth and development that children experience as a consequence of poor nutrition).
Still, by 2014 Mohammed felt safe enough to return to his village. Seven years on, however, he finds he is struggling to make ends meet.
With “no [formal] education it has been very hard for me to provide for my family’s day-to-day needs,” he says.
In 2019, the World Food Programme (WFP), with funding from the European Union, launched a project to address the causes of food insecurity and malnutrition in eastern Sudan.
Cash assistance was provided to 350 Tahadai Osis residents as they worked on local infrastructure projects such as rehabilitating a school and the school’s farm, repairing a solar-powered water tank, building pipelines to connect the village to clean water, and building flood prevention measures such as earth-retaining walls and soil dams.
The community were introduced to poultry farming and educated on the nutritional benefits of eggs which are not traditionally consumed in this region. Some of the eggs are used to make breakfast for children at a nearby WFP-supported school and any surplus is sold on, with profits ploughed back into the farm.
Mohammed and his wife Madina have started their own poultry farm which enables them to improve the diets of their three daughters – one of whom suffered from malnutrition before the family sought help at a WFP-supported clinic.
“I cook the eggs for my daughters who really like them,” says Madina, “We sell any extra eggs which enables us to buy other basic necessities.”
Children aged under-5 and pregnant and breastfeeding women are also screened for malnutrition at a WFP-supported clinic in Tahadai Osis. Those affected are provided with nutritional supplements that are packed with vitamins and minerals and rich in protein.
Community volunteers also go door-to-door educating families on the importance of a healthy diet and hygiene measures which help to prevent malnutrition.
“Volunteers came to my house and taught me about the importance of screening my children for malnutrition and how to prevent it,” says Madina. “I am now more aware of my family’s health and nutrition needs.”
Improving the food security of families like Mohammed’s has contributed to peace and stability in the region and is encouraging others who fled conflict to return to their villages.
“WFP has helped us to establish a foundation for our community to thrive,” says Karrar, a poultry-keeper from the village. “Access to clean water supports our livelihood activities and we have learnt how to rear chickens and to grow a variety of vegetables which has improved our diets.”
WFP’s activities in Tahadai Osis village are part of a project entitled ’Improving nutrition and reducing stunting in eastern Sudan through an integrated nutrition and food security approach’. This work has been possible thanks to generous contributions from the European Union and the work of WFP’s implementing partner Sudan Vision.
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Story
23 February 2022
A network of care for migrants in Sudan
By Wilson Johwa
For the visitors sitting in the covered waiting area outside Khartoum’s Migration Resource and Response Centre (MRRC), this multi-storey building on a busy road is a vital destination.
Between January and December 2021, nearly 7,000 visits were received from migrants – mostly from African countries – who sought assistance there.
Dr Amna Khairy, one of four MRRC doctors, says if not for the centre, many migrants would have struggled to access health care, in addition to being confronted with higher fees, with no option of free medication. The MRRC also solves the language barrier with dedicated interpreters.
COVID-19 presented Dr Khairy and her colleagues with a major challenge in how to reach migrants in need of support, especially after last year’s lockdown. However, among the first innovations was the set-up of phone-based medical consultation through a dedicated Helpline at the MRRC.
In other cases, the MRRC team would contact registered patients with chronic diseases via the Helpline to check on their condition.
“We distributed prescribed medicines through migrant community leaders and through safe houses,” says Dr Khairy. She and her colleagues later received positive feedback on these extra steps they took to help migrants. “After lockdown, they said, ‘your calls were very helpful, we know there is someone who cares about us.”
Sudan is a source, transit, and destination country at the centre of several migration routes. It hosts several migrant populations from countries such as Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Niger, Nigeria, Mauritania, Somalia, and the Philippines.
IOM Sudan has three MRRCs that provide a network of care facilities for migrants in vulnerable situations. MRRC Khartoum is the biggest, followed by similar centres in Gedaref State, on the border with Ethiopia, and another in Kassala State, close to border with Eritrea.
The three centres also work through a network of partners. In Khartoum, this includes a community safe house catering to the needs of Ethiopian migrants in difficulties.
At MRRC Khartoum, Dr Khairy and the three other doctors provide primary care and refer complex cases to hospitals and other specialized centres.
Take Guday Kebede, who had developed problems with her eyesight and could no longer work.
“I was almost unable to see,” said the 39-year-old Ethiopian domestic worker. “My eyes had filled with water and after the operation, I can see again,” she said, referring to a procedure arranged through the MRRC.
Guday has been living in Khartoum for five years, having arrived in Sudan in search of a better life – for herself and to support her five siblings back in Ethiopia.
The MRRC doctors also conduct outreach visits such as on COVID-19 awareness and for the distribution of personal protective equipment. In addition, they provide services to migrants at the two safe houses, and at two government-run facilities for migrants in administrative detention – the Counter-Trafficking Unit and the Aliens Field Inspection Unit.
Simachew Admasu, the manager of the Ethiopian safe house, says most of those cared for at the facility are young women who leave home with the promise of a job in the Middle East. Among them is Maritu, 20, who had hoped for a life in Dubai. She will be assisted by the MRRC to return to Ethiopia where she intends setting up a shop, although she has not completely abandoned her dream.
“Everyone I know travelled irregularly with no idea of regular migration, and many changed their lives that way,” Maritu says.
Further support for migrants in Khartoum is provided by a team of caseworkers from the MRRC who assess migrants’ vulnerabilities. Also on hand is mental health and psychosocial support, with complex cases being referred for more advanced interventions such as post-traumatic stress disorders, psychiatric disorders and depression.
Other services offered at the Khartoum MRRC include information on assisted voluntary return and reintegration, as well as outreach visits to support migrants in administrative detention with food assistance and hygiene items or with the payment of school fees for migrant children from economically vulnerable families to prevent them from dropping out of school.
Plans are underway to work through MRRC Khartoum to refurbish three primary health centres that also serve migrants. They are all in Khartoum State and work on the first one is due to start soon.
The three migrant support centres in Sudan are mainly co-funded by the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration in the Horn of Africa and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
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Story
03 August 2022
Crossing lines: Development driving collaboration in South Kordofan’s disputed areas
In Sudan’s South Kordofan, a history of conflict and underdevelopment means access to basic services is limited. While hostilities have ended, armed group SPLM-N (al-Hilu) retain control over several surrounding areas, with access limitations
But, UNDP-supported community development in El Abbasiya – in Government-controlled territory – is creating opportunities for cross-border collaboration, and living condition improvements on both sides
Community efforts have seen water access improved for 13,500 people in the area, and access to energy expanded for several communities
“The people here need training and opportunities, youth are energetic but need development projects. As the saying goes: ‘Don’t give me a fish but teach me how to fish’. We prefer development projects over humanitarian assistance because the latter make people dependent.” - Mamoun Salih Babiker, 27, community leader and local development project manager
At 27, State Ministry of Health and Social Welfare worker Mamoun Salih Babiker (above left) is passionate about creating opportunities and driving development in his community, addressing the significant needs that exist.
Improvements to limited services are being made – driven by a determined group of young people making up Al Abassiya’s Community Management Committee (above).
Describing the situation, Mamoun is frank: “There are opportunities in our area, like agriculture and business, but people need support. As a committee we work to help people. Our parents paid for our education, they need our help now, we are paying back less than they gave us.”
Mamoun leads the six-strong committee, one of 68 across Sudan, driving local development and peacebuilding initiatives. They draw on UNDP-provided management and mediation training, as well as agricultural machinery and supplies, including a generator.
Uniquely, this committee includes representatives from Al Abassiya – and SPLM-N (al-Hilu) – with both sides using the partnership to improve basic services, and relations between the two areas.
“We had existing water pumps in the village, but they had broken down, and increasing gasoline prices meant there was no fuel for the generator and pump and no revenue to cover these expenses,” explains Mamoun. “We offered to solve the problem.”
“We raised funds by renting out our tractor and accessories, had the pump fixed by local experts, and kept the tap free for people who couldn’t pay.”
“A barrel of water costs money – about 500SDGs – and some people cannot afford this. With the pump providing free water, people are able to use it for drinking water, home use and agriculture, and put that money towards other things.”
The committee also adopted a creative approach to helping young people and others on both sides of the disputed area.
Discussing energy access needs in his area, 26-year-old committee member and SPLM-N liaison Abdelbaqi Ahmed Abdelrahim (top image, right) says:
“The community has some needs, so we made the generator available to them [in SPLM-N (al-Hilu) areas], they can borrow it for events or to rent out if they need financial support.”
The committee decided to make the generator available free of charge, particularly for vulnerable groups like internally displaced people, to those in the SPLM-N (al-Hilu) areas who required it.
“The generator helps hundreds of people, anyone can ask for it, it moves back and forth a lot as needed, particularly for the wedding season in December.”
Originally from a nearby village, but now relocated to El Abbasiya, Abdelbaqi joined SPLM-N (al-Hilu) while studying at university. He felt compelled to support the committee as, “I stand by the community and youth – I believe in any project that will add value.”
Members of El Abbasiya’s Community Management Committee include: Mamoun Salih Babiker (Chairperson, 27), Abdelbaqi Ahmed Abdelrahim (26), Tarig Ahmed Adam, Hassan Mohamed Ebed, Najda Ali Adam (29, head of peacebuilding subcommittee), and Mona Adam Alamin.
Peace and stability are essential for development in Sudan. That makes them UNDP’s top priority. Our approach provides support on the national, state and local levels, combining efforts to address conflicts and their root causes. We aim to improve access to basic services, employment opportunities and fulfilment of essential needs for people all over the country. Additionally, we implement peacebuilding initiatives and provide conflict mediation to address problems when they occur. In 2021, UNDP supported over 1.5 million of Sudan’s most conflict-vulnerable people through stabilization projects.
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Story
28 March 2022
Keeping children in schools in Eastern Sudan
Reem Abbas
Despite several challenges this year, the UNICEF-led school enrolment campaign for children has been very successful in Gedarif State, in eastern Sudan. The campaign was also an opportunity for UNICEF and Ministry of Education to mobilize the communities to send and keep children in schools.
“We engaged all communities, neighbourhood-based communities, women committees and community leaders. And they helped us tremendously with the registration process," says Yahya Adam, a coordinator from the Ministry of Education and Guidance in Gedarif State, who was part of the team that worked on the school enrollment campaign.
But a successful enrolment campaign can also be a burden, as the large number of registered children must be absorbed into the school system. Communities across the state are stepping up to be part of the solution, with some opening Alternative Learning Programme (ALP) classrooms through fundraising with UNICEF to provide learning supplies, training of teachers and learners textbooks.
Improving access to quality education and protection for out-of-school children with a focus on girls
Since 2018, UNICEF has worked with the Federal Ministry of General Education to implement its Education Sector Strategic Plan (2018–2023) towards achieving education for all and realizing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 4 and 5. This specific project – Improving access to quality education and protection for out-of-school children with a focus on girls – aims to increase access to learning and life skill opportunities and realize the protection for at least 16,000 children aged 6 to 14 in Eastern Sudan.
The project targets sixty disadvantaged communities across all three states of Eastern Sudan, Kassala, Red Sea and Gedarif, considering their low school enrolment and high dropout rates.
The project has so far targeted 30 schools with functioning ALP centres in some of the most vulnerable communities, using a whole child approach. This approach leverages UNICEF experience across different programmes to provide children and their communities with integrated services across education, water and sanitation and child protection.
Ninety (90) ALP facilitators were trained on ALP curriculum delivery and another 40 teachers on child-centred teaching methodologies. The trainings built the capacity of participants in classroom management, COVID-19 safety and prevention measures for children and participatory teaching methodologies.
The ALP is an alternative venue of learning for children and adolescents who missed the opportunity to join schooling or have left the official school system at some point, including children affected by emergencies and conflict.
Sudan has increased the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for basic education from 71.1 to 73.5 per cent between 2009 and 2018, with UNICEF and partners increasing efforts to achieve and sustain Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Education for All (EFA).
“The GER in basic education has been stagnant around 73% for several years due to structural issues in Sudan.The COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing economic crisis have made progress difficult, but we understand the challenges and design the programmes factoring them in,” said Abdel Rahman El Rehiema El Dood, an Education Specialist at UNICEF Sudan.
The project is designed to get children into school or ALP and keep them learning. This is achieved through several ways.
“We invest in the school environment, community empowerment and in training teachers to make the school a better learning environment. We also invest in students by providing them with education supplies and school uniforms,” said Abdel Rahman.
Education supplies are crucial to lessening the burden of families facing a deteriorating economic situation. In addition to education supplies, UNICEF works with the World Food Programme (WFP) to provide nutritious meals for students.
In Eastern Sudan, the number of students starts decreasing from upper grades of 6,7 and 8, as boys drop out to support their families through employment and girls due to child marriage.
The project addresses these barriers impacting girls by raising awareness on the importance of education and advocating against child marriage through school activities.
“Engaging directly with the community is important because it gives us data on child marriage and this allows us to tailor our interventions to be specific to their challenges,” says Yahya.
Through this project, UNICEF reached 6,000 children in Eastern Sudan with essential supplies. UNICEF has so far provided 300 education kits to students and 60 kits to teachers as well as 60 recreation kits and 3,000 school uniforms. This in addition to 1,750 dignity kits which includes buckets, soap and menstrual hygiene management items including multi-purpose cloth and pads, for girls. Changed with below.
Through this project, 2,681 out of school children (54% girls) were enabled to access education in schools and ALP.
By the end of the two-year project, 16,000 vulnerable out-of-school children in Gedaref, Kassala, and Red Sea states, especially girls, will have increased access to quality education and life skill opportunities in child-friendly, protective environments in regular basic schools and ALP centres.
The improving access to quality education and protection for out-of-school children with a focus on girls project is only possible thanks to a generous contribution from the Government of Canada.
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Story
09 March 2022
In Darfur, women farmers tackle a rapidly changing climate
Khartoum Abdulrahman Al Duma spent much of November harvesting sesame and peanuts on her farm in the Darfur region in Sudan.
In Darfur, land can be hard to sow, parts are semi-arid and prone to droughts, which are becoming worse amid the climate crisis. The region has been beset by conflict for the past two decades, compounding the challenges for its inhabitants.
But Al Duma's crop turned out to be a bumper one. That's thanks in part to training she received under an initiative led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Called the Wadi El Ku Catchment Management Project, it trained Al Duma and dozens of other women on how to harvest, store and market their produce. For women in the region, many of whom have been widowed due to the conflict, peanuts and sesame flowers are an important source of income.
We believe knowledge is our weapon to fight climate change.
Mariam Abubakr, Wadi El Ku project team
"After selling our products and getting the money we have many things to do, including sending our children to school and starting a small business," said Al Duma.
The training she received was part of a larger UNEP effort to create economic opportunities in Darfur, especially for women, and to help the region cope with a fast-changing climate. Perched on the southern reaches of the Sahara Desert, in a region known as the Sahel, Darfur has seen rainfall dwindle in recent years.
The Wadi El Ku project, which is concentrated in a river valley near the city of El Fasher, has also supported the construction of weirs to conserve and regulate rainwater. In existence since 2014, the project has won plaudits for supporting local livelihoods and reducing conflict between nomadic livestock herders and farmers.
"Women are able to make a difference in several fields, including agriculture. But they need support and empowerment," said Mariam Abubakr, part of the Wadi El Ku project team. "We believe knowledge is our weapon to fight climate change and harvesting season proves that. I'm glad to see these women reap the fruits of their effort."
In 2020, more than 60,000 native seedlings were planted in the region to act as a buffer against the desert. Project teams also helped residents build weirs, or low dams, to conserve rainwater and protect against flooding.
More recently, teams worked in the villages of Ed-Elbaida, Bahr-Omdurman, Sag-Elnaam, Wad-Kuta and Wada to train women in modern farming techniques. The women are working a 30-acre plot of land donated by local sheikhs. The project helped get the farms up and running, preparing land, providing ploughs, and donating groundnut, sesame and sorghum seeds. That support helped the women-led farms weather a dry growing season better than many in their area.
"We have acquired new agricultural skills and practices through the season, and we are committed to train other women during the next season," said Abdelrahman
The Wadi El Ku Catchment Management Project is funded by the European Union and implemented by UNEP in partnership with the Government of Sudan and the non-governmental organization Practical Action.
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Story
23 February 2022
Displaced Sudanese finds comfort and hope in gardening
By Ararat Babayan in El Geneina, Sudan
Mukhtar Ahmed smiles proudly as he stands in the middle of a lush, green garden. The 47-year-old Sudanese looks content with the thriving greenery around him that he tends to carefully every day.
He works as a gardener at UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency’s compound in El Geneina, in Sudan’s West Darfur state. He got the job just in time, after his contracts with UNAMID – the previous UN mission in Darfur – and War Child, ended.
“I never received any special gardener training. I just happen to know a lot about plants since I was a child,” he says with a smile.
Working here has been refreshing for Mukhtar who has spent years living in uncertainty due to the recurrent bursts of violence and fighting in West Darfur, causing him to be displaced thrice in the last 20 years.
“A lush green garden can offer peace of mind and a welcome relief during turbulent times.”
Currently living in a site for internally displaced people (IDPs) in El Geneina, the father of 12 was first displaced in 2000, when conflict drove him from his home in Kuka village, east of El Geneina, to Chad.
They returned to Sudan in 2001 and settled in Zahawa village in West Darfur, where Mukhtar started teaching in an elementary school. In 2004, his family was displaced again after the conflict in Darfur erupted, this time to Krinding IDP camp in El Geneina.
“I struggled to find a job because there were none,” he recalls. “I didn’t complete my university as I didn’t have money for fees and this made the search for work even harder.”
He found odd jobs now and then, even working as a translator for a BBC film crew at one point. He later found work with various NGOs in the State such as HelpAge International, War Child and UNAMID, working as a community worker and a field officer in Azernei and Jebel Moon localities.
After his contracts ended, he returned to El Geneina, unemployed. Unfortunately, Krinding IDP site was attacked by armed men in January this year, forcing Mukhtar and his family to flee to the relative safety of the urban center in El Geneina, seeking refuge in schools, government offices and other places.
Their current stay in the State’s Youth Ministry IDP center is barely ideal as the centre is congested and the security situation in the area remains precarious.
“The situation is unpredictable, but people are trying to cope and live as normally as possible,” he says, adding that the community has established an IDP committee, with Mukhtar as its secretary.
Sudan hosts about 3 million IDPs, majority of them concentrated in the five Darfur States. West Darfur has particularly witnessed recurrent sparks of intercommunal violence since the start of the year, displacing about 300,000 people across 40 different locations. According to IOM’s latest data, there are over 115,000 displaced people in nearly 100 temporary sites in public buildings such as schools in El Geneina town and its outskirts.
Together with the local authorities and partners, UNHCR is prioritizing security and peacebuilding efforts to prevent further tensions among communities and to avoid violence hampering projects. As a fragile calm return, around 1000 families have gone back to Krinding and more are ready to return, once they receive the necessary support.
Mukhtar is hopeful that things will get better and that his children, including himself, will be able to return to school.
“It’s not too late for me. I wish for a chance to finish university. I believe that educated communities can find a way to settle their differences and live in harmony. This is the way to move our country forward.”
For now, he finds solace in his gardening.
“Jasmine is my favorite plant, with its delicate fragrance and elegant white and yellow flowers,” he says. “I feel that a lush green garden can offer you peace of mind and a welcome relief during turbulent times.”
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Story
23 February 2022
Improving the quality of education by supporting teachers in South Darfur
By Josephat Mukhanji
Tucked away in a remote village in El-Radoum village in South Darfur state in Sudan is Beliel Mixed Basic Education School. Established in 2018 to cater to about 100 students, the school now boasts of 783 students, including 124 South Sudanese refugees and 430 IDP children.
“My education was disrupted when I left South Sudan. I was in grade 1 when we left. After I arrived here, I stayed out of school for one year. Then I heard representatives from the government and UNHCR announcing that refugee children could join Beliel Mixed Basic Education School. That was a new beginning for me because I believe it is only through education that I that I can change my life. If I go back to South Sudan, I will have my education. If Sudan remains my permanent home, the education I receive will help me adjust to life here and find something productive to do to make my own life and that of my family and community better,” says Nasra Rizig, a seventh-grade student refugee student at Beliel Mixed Basic Education School.
The school faced serious challenges especially in staffing.
“The government doesn’t have enough teachers to teach all the children. The school cannot do so because we cannot afford it,” says Sharaf Salih Adam, the school principal and teacher of mathematics and science.
To address the gap in teaching staff, the school has recruited other teachers who are paid through the fees paid by students. But the fees are not enough to cover other school expenses like buying teaching and learning material and supplies and other running costs.
“Many times, there is failure to pay the teachers. Like many other schools in Sudan, this leads to absenteeism among teachers. Many teachers also quit to look for other jobs with guaranteed salaries, even if it’s less than what we were paying. Many children also drop out when they come to school and there are no classes,” adds Sharaf.
“In a week I would miss over five lessons because the teachers were not in school. I used to hear that it was because the school was not paying their salaries. These days the absenteeism among teachers has reduced and we learn better. I thank whoever has stepped in to address the situation,” observes Nasra.
With funding from the European Commission, UNICEF in partnership with the Ministry of Education, UNHCR and the Commission for Refugees is implementing Integration and mainstreaming of refugee children into the Sudanese education system (IRCSES) and improving the quality of education which is a project to support three refugee and IDP hosting schools by paying the salaries for 55 teachers in Elradoum and Beliel localities in South Darfur.
The schools are host to over 1,500 students comprising of 1,139 refugees, 430 IDPs and 229 host community children. In addition, the schools will benefit from school infrastructure development, provision of scholastic material and other supplementary teaching and learning resources, training of teachers and school committees to build their capacity to provide quality education in an inclusive, safe, and protective environment.
“We thank UNICEF and the European Commission for supporting us to pay salaries for teachers in these schools and ensure that emergency-affected children are able to access uninterrupted quality education services,” noted Abdalla Salih Al Tahir Amir, the Director of the Emergency Education in South Darfur Ministry of Education in Nyala.
There are still challenges because teachers are still under-paid, and the salaries are not equal across
“We hope the government will take over the payment of salaries for all teachers in all learning institutions. This way, the schools will be able to use the income from student fees to address other critical needs such as construction and repair of classrooms, purchase of additional teaching and learning material,” concludes Abdalla.
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Press Release
21 July 2022
More than Two Million Food Insecure Sudanese to Benefit from a New Emergency Safety Net Project Supported by Development Partners through the World Bank
The pause of disbursements by the World Bank in all of its operations to Government of Sudan as of October 25, 2021 remains in effect. At the same time, the international community is concerned about the growing food insecurity and humanitarian risks in the country and has been working together with the World Bank to find a way to meet the urgent needs of the Sudanese people.
At the request of the international community, today the World Bank signed an agreement with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to provide $100 million in financing directly to WFP for a new Sudan Emergency Safety Nets Project. The project responds to the deep food insecurity in Sudan caused by a poor harvest and rising international food prices. Funded through the support of donors to the Sudan Transition and Recovery Support Trust Fund (STARS), the project aims to provide cash transfers and food to more than two million food insecure beneficiaries in 11 states in Sudan based on a vulnerability assessment carried out by WFP. This support was made possible thanks to contributions from the European Union, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Sweden, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Netherlands, Norway, Canada, Italy, Finland, Spain, Ireland, and the State and Peacebuilding Fund.
“While funding under agreements signed with the Government of Sudan remains paused, development partners are pleased to provide direct support to the Sudanese people during this critical time. This is in line with our Fragility, Conflict, and Violence Strategy which focuses on protecting the human capital of the most vulnerable groups in times of crisis,” said Ousmane Dione, World Bank Country Director for Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Sudan. “Any decision to resume financing to the government will be made following an assessment of the situation. The World Bank continues to closely monitor the situation and there is no specific deadline for such decision.”
The funds will be channeled solely through the WFP to scale up the food security response and provide direct support to the most vulnerable people of Sudan. Priority will be given to women, children, elders, and those with disabilities. Support will be provided primarily through cash transfers. Where possible, mobile payments will be made to beneficiaries. Specific measures will be taken to reach remote populations without access to internet. Where beneficiaries cannot buy sufficient food in local markets, they will receive direct food assistance instead of cash.
ABOUT STARS
The Sudan Transition and Recovery Support Trust Fund (STARS) is an umbrella coordination platform for World Bank engagement in Sudan, supporting Sudan’s economic and peacebuilding transition. STARS operates thanks to the generous financial contributions from the European Union, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Sweden, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Netherlands, Norway, Canada, Italy, Finland, Spain, Ireland, and the State and Peacebuilding Fund.
PRESS RELEASE NO: 2023/004/AFE
Contacts
In Khartoum
Mohamed Hamid
mhamid3@worldbank.org
In Addis-Abeba
Gelila Woodenehv
gwoodeneh@worldbank.org
In Washington
Daniella van Leggelo-Padilla
dvanleggelo@worldbank.org
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Press Release
21 July 2022
Daily press briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General
Sudan
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Press Release
20 July 2022
STATEMENT BY THE HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR IN SUDAN ON VIOLENCE IN BLUE NILE STATE
Khartoum, 19 July 2022: The Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan Khardiata Lo Ndiaye has expressed deep concern over dozens of civilians killed and thousands of women and children displaced after a wave of inter-communal violence in parts of Blue Nile State over the past few days. Humanitarian organizations are providing the affected people with initial assistance.
“We are deeply concerned, lives have been lost, thousands of people had to flee and seek safety and shelter, and lives of many others have been disrupted,” the Humanitarian Coordinator said. “I am calling on all parties to stop the violence, talk to each other and seek mutually acceptable solutions.”
As of 19 July, about 14,000 people have been displaced from Ar Rusayris locality in Blue Nile State following a wave of inter-communal violence that started in Ganis town and other parts of Ar Rusayris on 15 July, according to the government authorities. There are reports of an additional 1,000 people displaced in Ar Rusayris, and 500 people outside Ed Damazine town. The total number of displaced is likely to increase, as information from other parts of the state and neighboring states comes in. The Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) has so far registered 97 total deaths related to the violence.
“We are already providing assistance and support to thousands of vulnerable people in parts of Blue Nile State and stand ready to support the people affected by this wave of violence,” the Humanitarian Coordinator said.
Humanitarian organizations are dispatching health and medical supplies enough for 30,000 people, including three emergency health kits (medicines and supplies for treatment), trauma kits and supplies for at least 450 trauma cases. These supplies are being delivered to the FMoH to be sent to Blue Nile. Humanitarian partners have also received requests to expand the field capacity of Damazine hospital (tents, medicines, surgical supplies, and outpatient treatment capacity) to cope with the growing caseload. They are also providing meals to around 4,500 displaced people.
Humanitarian organizations reached about 563,000 people in Blue Nile with humanitarian assistance and support during January-March 2022. The population of Blue Nile is estimated at 1.3 million.
These clashes are occurring at a time when humanitarian needs in Sudan are already at an all-time high. Over 14 million people, currently require some form of life-saving assistance. Upticks in violence further exacerbate the humanitarian situation, at a time when funding for the 2022 Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan stands at 20 per cent, more than halfway through the year.
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For further information, please contact:
OCHA Sudan
Sofie Karlsson, Head of Communications: +249 912 174456 | WhatsApp: +249 912 174456 | karlsson2@un.org
“We are deeply concerned, lives have been lost, thousands of people had to flee and seek safety and shelter, and lives of many others have been disrupted,” the Humanitarian Coordinator said. “I am calling on all parties to stop the violence, talk to each other and seek mutually acceptable solutions.”
As of 19 July, about 14,000 people have been displaced from Ar Rusayris locality in Blue Nile State following a wave of inter-communal violence that started in Ganis town and other parts of Ar Rusayris on 15 July, according to the government authorities. There are reports of an additional 1,000 people displaced in Ar Rusayris, and 500 people outside Ed Damazine town. The total number of displaced is likely to increase, as information from other parts of the state and neighboring states comes in. The Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) has so far registered 97 total deaths related to the violence.
“We are already providing assistance and support to thousands of vulnerable people in parts of Blue Nile State and stand ready to support the people affected by this wave of violence,” the Humanitarian Coordinator said.
Humanitarian organizations are dispatching health and medical supplies enough for 30,000 people, including three emergency health kits (medicines and supplies for treatment), trauma kits and supplies for at least 450 trauma cases. These supplies are being delivered to the FMoH to be sent to Blue Nile. Humanitarian partners have also received requests to expand the field capacity of Damazine hospital (tents, medicines, surgical supplies, and outpatient treatment capacity) to cope with the growing caseload. They are also providing meals to around 4,500 displaced people.
Humanitarian organizations reached about 563,000 people in Blue Nile with humanitarian assistance and support during January-March 2022. The population of Blue Nile is estimated at 1.3 million.
These clashes are occurring at a time when humanitarian needs in Sudan are already at an all-time high. Over 14 million people, currently require some form of life-saving assistance. Upticks in violence further exacerbate the humanitarian situation, at a time when funding for the 2022 Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan stands at 20 per cent, more than halfway through the year.
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***
For further information, please contact:
OCHA Sudan
Sofie Karlsson, Head of Communications: +249 912 174456 | WhatsApp: +249 912 174456 | karlsson2@un.org
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Press Release
06 July 2022
Note to Correspondents – in response to questions on Sudan
The Secretary-General takes note of the statement of the Chairperson of the Sovereign Council, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, yesterday, on the withdrawal of the military from the political talks facilitated by the AU-IGAD-UNITAMS Trilateral Mechanism. The Secretary-General hopes this creates the opportunity for Sudanese to reach an agreement that ultimately leads to a civilian-led transition to democracy in Sudan.
The Trilateral Mechanism encourages dialogue between all stakeholders to reach agreement on the way forward to restore a civilian-led democratic transition.
The Secretary-General supports the calls for independent investigation into incidents of violence, including through appropriate transitional justice mechanisms.
Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General
New York, 5 July 2022
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Press Release
08 June 2022
Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General
As Sudanese stakeholders prepare to engage in direct talks, he encourages them to participate in good faith and to continue to work towards establishing a conducive environment for a constructive dialogue in the interest of the Sudanese people.
The Secretary-General condemns all calls for violence and reiterates the importance of a peaceful atmosphere for the talks to be successful. He is also concerned about attempts to undermine the efforts of the trilateral mechanism and its envoys. The Secretary-General recalls that all forms of hate speech represent an attack on tolerance, undermine social cohesion and can lay the foundation for violence, setting back the cause of peace. He reaffirms his strong support for the work of UNITAMS, as it continues to support the Sudanese aspirations for democracy, peace and prosperity.
Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General
New York, 6 June 2022
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