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Sudan Humanitarian Fund Annual Report 2019

Countries
Sudan
Sources
OCHA
Publication date

SHF 2019 ANNUAL REPORT

2019 IN REVIEW

This Annual Report presents information on the achievements of the Sudan Humanitarian Fund during the 2019 calendar year. However, because grant allocation, project implementation and reporting processes often take place over multiple years (CBPFs are designed to support ongoing and evolving humanitarian responses), the achievement of CBPFs are reported in two distinct ways:

Information on allocations granted in 2019 (shown in blue). This method considers intended impact of the allocations rather than achieved results as project implementation and reporting often continues into the subsequent year and results information is not immediately available at the time of publication of annual reports.

Results reported in 2019 attributed to allocations granted in 2019 and prior years (shown in orange). This method provides a more complete picture of achievements during a given calendar year but includes results from allocations that were granted in previous years. This data is extracted from final narrative reports approved between 1 February 2019 - 31 January 2020.

Figures for people targeted and reached may include double counting as individuals often receive aid from multiple cluster/sectors.

Contribution recorded based on the exchange rate when the cash was received which may differ from the Certified Statement of Accounts that records contributions based on the exchange rate at the time of the pledge.

2019 IN REVIEW

HUMANITARIAN CONTEXT

In August 2019, a transitional government was formed with a 39-month mandate following months of civil unrest that was partly fueled by a deepening economic crisis, and which saw the removal of the previous longstanding regime. Cash and fuel shortages negatively impacted people in need as well as the ability of humanitarian aid workers to deliver assistance. The transitional government prioritized peace and ending the economic crisis, priorities that are closely linked with the drivers of humanitarian needs in the country. Sudan has a protracted humanitarian situation due to a combination of factors such as large scale internal displacement as a result of protracted conflict, and lack of investment in social services like health care, education and water and sanitation.

Despite the opportunities opened by the political transition, the deepening economic crisis – with high prices for food and other key goods - and lack of durable solutions for 1.87 million people living in displacement meant that more people required humanitarian assistance. By the second half of 2019, it became apparent that a growing number of people in areas outside the conflict zones of the Darfur states, South Kordofan and Blue Nile, such as the Red Sea,
Gedaref, Kassala, and Gezira, as well as in urban centres, including Khartoum, required humanitarian assistance.

Improved Humanitarian Access
In the past three years, there had been some improvements in the humanitarian access environment, but this was accelerated by the transitional government. The government reduced travel restrictions on internal movement of aid workers and committed to allowing humanitarian access across the entire country. In October 2019, the requirement for travel permits to access conflict-affected areas in parts of South Kordofan, Blue Nile, and Jebel Marra in Darfur was lifted. This resulted in faster approvals for travel. As a result of improving access, aid agencies were able to reach and aid vulnerable people in parts of Jebel Marra that are not under the control of the government, and which had not been reached in several years. In addition, engagement with both factions of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement - North (SPLM-N) in South Kordofan and Blue Nile resulted in several high-profile missions, including the visit by the global head of WFP, to those areas and the delivery of humanitarian assistance. However, many NGOs continue to have challenges in some geographical areas. In addition, parts of Jebel Marra, South Kordofan and Blue Nile that are not under government control cannot be accessed from within Sudan.

Economic crisis and shortage of essential commodities
High inflation was a major driver of vulnerability in 2019. The inflation rate increased from 44 per cent in February 2019 to 61 per cent in November 2019, though notably lower than in December 2018 when it was 73 per cent. Throughout the year, food, fuel, and other basic commodities prices increased consistently. Despite the gains brought about by adequate rainfall in the country, approximately 90 per cent of IDPs and refugee households, as well as 58 per cent of host population, could not afford their daily food basket . Rising food prices exacerbated already-high levels of malnutrition, with almost 2.4 million acutely malnourished children across the country.

Limited access to cash for implementing projects caused delays in some of the interventions. The effects were more evident in remote areas with inadequate or no formal banking system. As cash shortages affected most of the country in the first half of the year, suppliers became increasingly reluctant to accept bank transfers or cheques. In some instances, cash shortages impacted procurement, cash distribution to cash programming beneficiaries and other operational costs.

The country received above normal rainfall in almost all parts of the country during 2019, with the season continuing throughout October instead of ending in September. While the extra rain was good for agriculture and regeneration of pasture and water sources, it resulted in flash floods affecting more than 426,000 people—almost twice the number of people affected by floods in 2018. The government’s Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) and partners reported that 17 of 18 states and the Abyei area were affected. HAC also reported that 49,535 homes were destroyed, and 35,725 others damaged. The most affected states were White Nile State with 147,240 people affected, Kassala (40,435 people), Khartoum (32,060 people), West Kordofan (28,215 people) and North Darfur (22,740 people). Overflowing riverbanks had significant impact in Khartoum, Gezira, Sennar and White Nile states. Additionally, some crops rotted because of water logging and others that were ready for harvest were lost due to continuation of the rains into the early harvest season.

Deteriorating health system
In 2019, Sudan experienced concurrent outbreaks of water and vector-borne diseases, including cholera, dengue fever, Rift Valley Fever, chikungunya and malaria. These outbreaks coupled with low investment in basic services in Sudan, such as poor WASH, vector control and health infrastructure,; resulted in excessive demand on a strained healthcare system. The situation has been exacerbated by inflation resulting in an increase in cost of medicines by 50-100 per cent.

Protection risk and increased violence in Darfur
Despite a significant reduction in open conflict, protection threats remain in many parts of the country, with increased risks and violence reported especially in Darfur. Many IDPs face harassment when trying to farm, which contributes to household food insecurity. Access denial to farmlands was reported in West Darfur (Kerenik, Jebel Moon and Habila) and in North Darfur (Kutum, Kabkabiya and Tawila). In West Darfur, farmers were denied access to their farmlands in the three localities either through the imposition of unaffordable fees or through harassment and violence. These factors contributed to the outbreak of inter-communal violence in El Geneina beginning in late 2019 when over 41,000 people were displaced and sought refuge in El Geneina town.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.