The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) has approved a $19.85 million grant to support emergency humanitarian operations in Sudan, with a strong focus on improving women’s livelihoods and easing the impact of the ongoing conflict on communities and infrastructure.                                                              

The Crisis Response for Women and Affected Communities in Sudan project emphasizes support to women in conflict zones with a focus on health, agriculture and livelihood interventions

The Crisis Response for Women and Affected Communities in Sudan project takes a gender-responsive approach to urgent humanitarian needs. Since April 2023, armed conflict has devastated critical infrastructure and triggered a humanitarian crisis that has disproportionately impacted women and children the hardest.

In the short term, the Crisis Response for Women and Affected Communities in Sudan project will train and mobilize frontline workers such as health professionals, midwives, water and sanitation specialists, and market facilitators. The project will also restore five health facilities and four emergency centers in conflict zones, as well as construct and rehabilitate 10 water and energy systems in urban and rural settings.

The Bank financing also facilitates delivery of emergency food aid, from lentils and sorghum to other staples like tea leaves and sugar. Some 60,000 people will receive farming inputs like fertilizers and seeds this year alone. The project will facilitate cash grants to support livelihoods of another 125,000 people, with a focus on women and their dependents, as well as survivors of gender-based violence.

Overall, the project will benefit 1.5 million Sudanese, or 265,000 households, of which 65 percent are estimated to be led by women. The Bank categorizes the Crisis Response for Women and Affected Communities in Sudan project “Category 1” on its Gender Marker System, indicating “the principal objective of the project directly addresses gender equality and/or women’s empowerment.”

“Peace, security and stability are urgently needed for Sudanese communities to reach its full potential,” Dr. Beth Dunford, the Bank’s Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, said about the project.

“The Crisis Response for Women and Affected Communities in Sudan project will help restore social services and economic opportunities to some of the country’s most vulnerable communities. The Bank financing will also strategically promote inclusive and resilient economic activities,” she added.

The Bank’s Transition Support Facility (https://apo-opa.co/3DNnQfy) is financing the project. The Facility, introduced in 2008, provides additional concessional resources to countries facing situations of fragility and conflict.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, or ICRC, will draw on its deep operational experience and long-standing presence in Sudan to implement the Crisis Response for Women and Affected Communities in Sudan project. The ICRC will work through existing staffing and infrastructure, which include specialists in monitoring and evaluation, environment and safeguards, gender, procurement, and communications.

This Bank crisis response operation, implemented in collaboration with the ICRC, goes beyond short-term humanitarian interventions to invest in long-term resilience and sustainable development with a focus on women and affected communities. It adopts a humanitarian-development-peace nexus approach which blends urgent humanitarian relief with efforts to lay the foundation for long-term development and peace. While addressing the conflict with a rapid response focused on food security and other livelihood support, the project’s focus remains on early recovery tactics for affected communities and displaced populations.

To date, an estimated eight million Sudanese have been displaced, and another 1.6 million — mostly women and children — have been forced to flee to neighboring countries. Supporting Sudan’s stabilization requires coordinated efforts of combined immediate relief laying the foundation for long-term development and lasting stability. Policy dialogue will be key to ensuring women’s participation in crisis management.