UNDAF 20 Annual 16 Report - United Nations Development ... · It also highlights concrete...

United Nations Country Team in Sudan

Annual Report on the United Nations Development Assistance Framework

UNDAFAnnual Report

2016

(UNDAF)

Cover image by UN Environment

Aerial view of Darfur during the rainy season. Water is a fundamental source of greenery and life in areas such as North Darfur, especially as global temperatures rise and deserti�cation encroaches.

Message from the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sudan i

Summary of Main Development Achievements 1

1. Introduction 9

2. Summary of Main Development Achievements 10

2.a) UNDAF Focus Area 1: Economic Development and Poverty Reduction 10 UNDAF Outcome 1 10

2.b) UNDAF Focus Area 2: Environment, Climate Resilience and Disaster Risk Management 14 UNDAF Outcome 2 14

2.c) UNDAF Focus Area 3: Social Services 17 UNDAF Outcome 3 17 UNDAF Outcome 4 22

2.d) UNDAF Focus Area 4: Governance, Rule of Law and Institutional Capacity Development 29 UNDAF Outcome 5 29 UNDAF Outcome 6 33

2.e) UNDAF Focus Area 5: Community Stabilization 38 UNDAF Outcome 7 38 UNDAF Outcome 8 42

3. Main Challenges to Implementation of the UNDAF 46

4. Emerging Opportunities for the UNDAF 47

Table of Contents

Message from the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sudan

On behalf of the United Nations Country Team in Sudan, I am pleased to present to you the 2016 Annual Report on the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). This report outlines the main issues on which the United Nations Country Team worked with the Government in 2016 in support of its development aspirations. It also highlights concrete development achievements to which the United Nations Country Team contributed in the �ve UNDAF focus areas, namely: 1) economic development and poverty reduction; 2) environment, climate resilience and disaster risk management; 3) basic services; 4) governance, rule of law and institutional capacity development; and 5) community stabilization.

The 19 UN agencies that are part of the UNDAF contributed to the preparation of this report. The exercise gave us an opportunity to come together and re�ect not only on progress made in achieving the objectives of the UNDAF, but also on common challenges faced and opportunities that have emerged for our future programming.

Our gratitude goes to our national and international development partners, whose support makes it possible to work towards common goals and achieve tangible development results. The United Nations Country Team in Sudan reiterates its commitment to support the Government’s response to national development challenges, and looks forward to strengthening its partnerships in pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Ms Marta RuedasUnited Nations Resident Coordinator in Sudan

Annual Report 2016 i

UNDAF 1

Summary of Main Development Achievements

The following is a summary of main development achievements to which United Nations (UN) agencies, in collaboration with the Government of Sudan and other partners, contributed in 2016 as part of the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF):

UNDAF Focus Area 1: Economic Development and Poverty Reduction

• Thousands were trained in areas ranging from environmentally-friendly construction technology and urban agriculture, to life and income-generating skills and entrepreneurship.

• 8,592 job placements were reached with alternative sustainable livelihoods.

• Up to 38,985 households became drought-resilient.

• More than 37,876 households had access to productive advisory services.

• 240 livestock owners’ households were trained on improved milk production and fattening to improve household nutrition and income.

• Overall productivity of targeted field crops, vegetables and fodder increased by 128%, 94% and 79%, respectively.

• Targeted pastoralists reported increase in meat, milk and birth production of up to 104%, while average body weight increased by 136%.

• Land under improved agriculture reached 894,361 feddans.

• 755 traditional rain-fed farmers were provided with foundation seeds and improved agronomic practices to become certi�ed seeds producers.

• Molecular diagnostic methods for detecting livestock diseases were upgraded and sequencing services were implemented to improve the means to identify, characterize and genotype transboundary animal diseases in veterinary laboratories.

• 100 community animal health workers were trained to provide veterinary services on a sustainable basis.

• 190 sacks of gum Arabic seeds were broadcasted in East Darfur covering 1,080 feddans.

• 4 enterprise development and investment promotion programmes were conducted.

• Entrepreneurship was introduced in Sudanese universities’ curriculum.

• 964 government sta� and non-state actors were trained in formulation of food security policies and programmes.

• Training centres were established for improving crops and livestock husbandry techniques in different states, and 3 veterinary clinics were constructed in Darfur.

• 288,000 con�ict-a�ected farmers and nomads had improved access to sustainable water, certi�ed seeds, veterinary and livestock services, inputs, and agribusiness skills.

• More than 28,453 households had access to micro�nance services with SDG82 million and increase in employment of 88-156%.

• A non-financial unit was established within the Bank of Khartoum for provision of non-financial services to existing and start-up entrepreneurs.

Annual Report 2016 2

• An Entrepreneurship and Innovation Centre was established within the Faculty of Engineering in the University of Khartoum.

• 55 water facilities were constructed and rehabilitated, including 15 ha�rs, 20 shallow wells and 20 surface dams. 20 sub-surface dams were constructed, and 50 road structures were constructed to improve access in rural areas of Darfur to services and markets.

• Local processing facilities for soy milk, soy butter (dakowah), soy cake and oil were established.

• The National Food Security and Nutrition Policy Framework was revised and a national Food Security Information and Knowledge-Sharing System was developed, while the National Agriculture Investment Plan was �nalized.

• The Khartoum State Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction 2016-2030 was developed and the National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy was �nalized.

• The Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the Ozone layer and the Minamata Convention on Mercury were implemented. An initial assessment and a National Action Plan on Mercury in the Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining sector were developed.

• In White Nile, South Kordofan and Eastern Sudan, internally displaced persons, refugee and returnee communities increased levels of self-reliance and resilience to external shocks through the introduction of fuel-e�cient stoves and gas and solar cookers; the rehabilitation of 14 community nurseries and seedling production that led to the reforestation of 800 hectares of degraded land; and the provision of vocational training for income generation.

• 193,000 people had increased resilience to extreme weather shocks (droughts and �oods) in 4 localities in Kassala state through the creation and rehabilitation of assets such as check dams, gabion walls, haffirs and also activities such as mesquite clearance.

• In the Wadi El Ku area in North Darfur, 2 water spreading structures were built from which 20 villages (4,000 households) bene�ted through above-average rain-fed crop yields on 5,000 feddans of land. In the same area, gully erosion control measures were carried out and 800 farmers were supported in the construction of crescent-shaped terraces.

• In Gedaref, North Kodorfan, South Darfur and River Nile states communities adopted new water harvesting techniques, planted more than 378 hectares with trees and received 35.5 tonnes of di�erent varieties of improved seeds, while 4,212 livestock were vaccinated.

• Approximately 281,000 households bene�ted from fuel-e�cient stoves and 716,624 households from fire fuel briquette activities. Firewood collection trips were reduced and firewood consumption decreased by 40%, equivalent to 180,000 tonnes of �rewood savings, corresponding to a reduction in deforestation of approximately 16,000 hectares of forest land per annum.

• In the east and the south of the country, 665 units of liquefied natural gas and butane gas stoves were introduced for refugees, as well as 2,800 of improved mud stoves. 9 wells were equipped with solar-powered pumps and approximately 10,000 households were provided with alternative livelihoods activities to curb �rewood collection and selling.

• A Sudan Disaster Loss and Damage Database system was set up and launched online.

• The Sudan Meteorological Authority’s SAMIS system maintained and updated the Seasonal Monitoring system.

• The Khartoum State Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction 2016-2030 was developed and the National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy was �nalized.

• The Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the Ozone layer and the Minamata Convention on Mercury were implemented. An initial assessment and a National Action Plan on Mercury in the Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining sector were developed.

• In White Nile, South Kordofan and Eastern Sudan, internally displaced persons, refugee and returnee communities increased levels of self-reliance and resilience to external shocks through the introduction of fuel-e�cient stoves and gas and solar cookers; the rehabilitation of 14 community nurseries and seedling production that led to the reforestation of 800 hectares of degraded land; and the provision of vocational training for income generation.

• 193,000 people had increased resilience to extreme weather shocks (droughts and �oods) in 4 localities in Kassala state through the creation and rehabilitation of assets such as check dams, gabion walls, haffirs and also activities such as mesquite clearance.

• In the Wadi El Ku area in North Darfur, 2 water spreading structures were built from which 20 villages (4,000 households) bene�ted through above-average rain-fed crop yields on 5,000 feddans of land. In the same area, gully erosion control measures were carried out and 800 farmers were supported in the construction of crescent-shaped terraces.

• In Gedaref, North Kodorfan, South Darfur and River Nile states communities adopted new water harvesting techniques, planted more than 378 hectares with trees and received 35.5 tonnes of di�erent varieties of improved seeds, while 4,212 livestock were vaccinated.

• Approximately 281,000 households bene�ted from fuel-e�cient stoves and 716,624 households from fire fuel briquette activities. Firewood collection trips were reduced and firewood consumption decreased by 40%, equivalent to 180,000 tonnes of �rewood savings, corresponding to a reduction in deforestation of approximately 16,000 hectares of forest land per annum.

• In the east and the south of the country, 665 units of liquefied natural gas and butane gas stoves were introduced for refugees, as well as 2,800 of improved mud stoves. 9 wells were equipped with solar-powered pumps and approximately 10,000 households were provided with alternative livelihoods activities to curb �rewood collection and selling.

• A Sudan Disaster Loss and Damage Database system was set up and launched online.

• The Sudan Meteorological Authority’s SAMIS system maintained and updated the Seasonal Monitoring system.

UNDAF Focus Area 2: Environment, Climate Resilience and Disaster Risk Management

UNDAF 3

• Members of 6 localities participated in a �re management training aimed at avoiding wild�res and protecting the forest and range in their areas.

• In North Darfur, pastoralism was presented to stakeholders as a rational form of land use complementary to farming, especially in the context of unpredictable climatic conditions.

• 3,899 farmers bene�ted from training sessions on adaptation measures, during which 43,400 multi-purpose trees were planted on 710 hectares of forest/rangeland and 28 shelterbelts were established.

Health

• The National Health Sector Strategic Plan 2017-2021 was developed; the Reproductive, Maternal, New-Born, Child and Adolescent Strategy 2017-2021 was launched; the health financing policy was finalized; the national health policy was reviewed; the national policy for public health laboratories, the blood transfusion policy and policy for quality of health care were finalized and endorsed; a stepwise survey on communicable diseases in Khartoum was conducted.

• The Maternal Death Surveillance system was maintained and functional in all focus states.

• Sudan’s capability to manufacture radiopharmacy cold kits was enhanced, as well as its capacities for safe practices in hospital radiopharmacy and delivery of brachytherapy treatment.

• Construction of the insectary for irradiating the malaria vector Anopheles arabiensis using the sterile insect technique was ongoing.

• Nearly 700,000 individuals acquired comprehensive knowledge on 6 essential family practices (use of bed nets, breastfeeding, correct use of oral rehydration solutions, handwashing, taking children for vaccination, and promoting antenatal care) through direct engagement in 27 target localities of 7 states through communication events.

• 4,383,506 children aged six months to 15 years in six target states were vaccinated against measles. 4.2 million children under �ve years of age, including South Sudanese refugees, were reached during two rounds of polio sub-national immunization days.

• The coverage of comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care increased by 5% and of basic emergency obstetric and newborn care by 6% in UN focus states.

• 123 new health facilities providing integrated management of childhood illness services reached approximately 2.6 million children under �ve years with essential services for pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria.

• The proportion of health facilities reporting stock-out of at least three contraceptive methods in the last three months was 43% in 2016 compared to 95% in 2015.

• 7 health facilities were constructed in North, South, West and Central Darfur, Blue Nile and Khartoum states, including 1 midwifery school in Kutum. Accordingly, 106,000 persons have access to health services in their locations.

HIV

• Associations of people living with HIV were supported. Different partners were sensitized on ending stigma and discrimination towards people living with HIV. The national campaign “Dignity for All” to end stigma in health care settings was launched.

UNDAF Focus Area 3: Social Services


• Prevention of mother-to-child transmission services were set up in 7 new health facilities, including clinics providing services to South Sudanese refugees in White Nile state. Prevention of mother-to-child transmission services were provided in 24 mobile antenatal care centres where such services were previously not available. Health care providers were trained.

• 4,500 prison inmates and o�cers in 4 prisons in Khartoum were reached with HIV prevention information and voluntary counselling, and testing was provided to 1,500 people. Those found positive were referred for con�rmatory testing and initiation of treatment.

Nutrition

• The Micronutrient Deficiency Strategy was developed.

• The Nutrition Investment Case was launched, the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) country networks were created and a multi-sectoral plan of action was developed.

• Nutrition assessments and reporting were conducted in Kassala, Red sea, Gedaref and Blue Nile, and task forces were established to enhance multi-sectoral coordination in policy development.

• 105,000 students, in North Kordofan state were provided school meals.

• 224,517 children were admitted to treatment for severe acute malnutrition across Sudan.

• 342 new treatment sites for severe acute malnutrition were opened (cumulative 1,235), increasing the proportion of health facilities with severe acute malnutrition treatment to 44%.

• 96,038 children and their households living in the 75 most deprived villages in 4 localities in Kassala bene�ted from an integrated package of health, water, sanitation, hygiene, nutrition, food security and livelihood interventions.

• A network of 1,480 mother support groups in 22 of the most deprived localities provided individual counselling, support and information to mothers to enable better breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices.

• 570,478 caretakers were provided messages on proper infant and young child feeding practices in 15 states.

Water, sanitation and hygiene

• The first Sudan National Sanitation and Hygiene Strategic Framework was developed.

• Safe drinking water was provided to around 3.1 million vulnerable people (half of them children), including those in emergency situations.

• Massive interventions, mainly water disinfection, against acute watery diarrhoea epidemics that affected 7 states, e�ectively contributed to the dramatic reduction in reported cases.

• 1,230,715 emergency-a�ected and vulnerable rural people gained access to improved sanitation facilities, and 1,191 communities attained open defecation free status.

• 4.3 million people across various parts of the country were reached with hygiene promotion interventions. In schools more than 83,000 pupils were reached with interventions for access to safe water and 73,000 for improved sanitation and handwashing facilities.

• 72 and 68 health/nutrition centres bene�ted from water supply and sanitation interventions, respectively.

• In 8 return communities in Darfur, water systems were installed, rehabilitated or upgraded.

• 7 shallow drinking wells in Darfur were rehabilitated. The water supply systems in El Fasher and Zalingei were assessed and a water market study was conducted in both towns.

UNDAF 5

• In Eastern Sudan, refugees and surrounding villages accessed water supply 100% in each of the camps with an average of 32 litres per person per day. All the camps recorded adequate water supply except Shagharab I, II and III camps, with on average of 19 litres per person per day.

• In White Nile State camps, the per capita water consumption increased from 16 to 20 litres/person/day.

• In Darfur, 8,050 refugees in Um Shalaya refugee camp had access to 20 litres/person/day of clean water, and 6 handpumps, 1 borehole and 1 water yard were maintained/rehabilitated.

Education

• The Education Sector Strategic Plan 2018-2022 is under development.

• Training materials for empowering teachers in their work with students with learning difficulties were developed, as well as a teacher guide for work with deaf students.

• 276,091 rural, nomadic, and emergency-a�ected previously out-of-school children enrolled in basic education.

• Capacity building was provided for 3,373 parent teacher associations and School Improvement Planning Committees members (40% women) from 950 schools in developing, implementing, �nancing and monitoring of school improvement plans.

• The National Literacy Campaign was carried out. About 40 trainers were trained targeting to cover 13,000 teachers per year improving education of about 0.5 million out-of-school individuals.

• Urban refugee children and refugee children in Darfur received learning materials, school uniforms, or were supported with school fees.

• Secondary School for Girls was constructed in Elfath 1, Karari locality, Khartoum state, serving the internally displaced reintegrated community.

Infrastructure

• 2 youth centres were established in Blue Nile and Khartoum states serving as a social hub for youth, women and children.

• Policies and laws were reformed and updated, including the National Women Empowerment Policy, the National Strategy for Family Development, and the National Gender-Based Violence Policy. An article was introduced in the Penal Code criminalizing female genital mutilation.

• 40 locality development plans and 5 state strategic plans (Eastern Sudan and South Kordofan) were developed, and over 800 government sta� were trained on issues related to planning and budgeting; revenue collection; government �nance statistics-based budget and reporting; and monetary and �nancial policies and regulations.

• 2 regional spatial planning strategies of Darfur and Blue Nile were developed as a functional methodology designed to facilitate a smooth transition from humanitarian relief to recovery, reconstruction and economic development.

• 3 Darfur states operationalized the automated payroll system.

• Awareness raising and advocacy were conducted with government partners, media, academic institutions and/or civil society in the areas of anti-corruption; family planning; youth issues; refugee registration and documentation; human rights; among others.

UNDAF Focus Area 4: Governance, Rule of Law and Institutional Capacity Development


• Capacity development and training were provided to partners in a number of areas, including: youth; population; tra�cking of persons; migration; protection issues; border management; gender-based violence; female genital mutilation/cutting; sexual and reproductive health; etc.

• The final MDGs report was completed and the SDGs were rolled out with sensitization seminars and an advocacy and communication campaign.

• The Project for the 6th National Population and Housing Census 2018 was finalized.

• 6 sector and 5 state ‘Strategies for the Development of Statistics’ and 4 ‘Quarterly National Strategy for the Development of Statistics’ newsletters and ‘Sudan in Figures’ were �nalized and printed.

• Fora for data producers and data users at national and state levels were established as coordination mechanisms. The Area Network Connection in the 5 Darfur states was rehabilitated to enhance capacities in data management in humanitarian settings and the upcoming census.

• 10 youth centres in selected localities in Kassala and Gedaref states helped maximize youth engagement in community-based interventions.

• 3,000 birth certificates were issued to persons of concern in Khartoum, White Nile and the East.

• Participatory assessments for internally displaced and refugee camps were conducted in urban and rural areas of West, Central and South Darfur states.

• In East Sudan, community leadership committee elections were conducted in 5 refugee camps to establish community-based protection structures. Elections were concluded in 4 of the camps.

• The National Coordination Mechanism for Migration was established.

• 13 assignments by Sudanese experts from other countries to build the capacity of government and non-government institutions in Sudan were completed in areas such as water management, corporate governance, training of visually impaired individuals, and media development.

• The Land and Survey Departments in Blue Nile state set up a land database which allows to verify information of applicants and has discovered cases of land registration irregularities. The Ministry of Physical Planning was enabled to allocate and demarcate land plots for 3,050 internally displaced person families in Damazine, Blue Nile state.

• Legal aid services were provided for 209 cases.

• The Sudan National Human Rights Commission handled human rights cases.

• The Truth and Reconciliation Commission engaged in reconciliation, conflict resolution and peace building in Darfur.

• 19 gender-based violence referral pathways/protection networks at community level in Darfur and White Nile states were active, and 20 women centres served as entry point for gender-based violence survivors to refer to di�erent services.

• 15 community-based organizations were established in Gedaref, Khartoum, North Kordofan and Kassala states to work on female genital mutilation, and a group of 35 media personnel with special focus on female genital mutilation was formed.

• Reproductive health and gender-based violence kits were procured and distributed to hospitals in Khartoum and Kassala states serving refugees and migrants.

• 70,720 most vulnerable women and girls of reproductive age in White Nile, South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Darfur states bene�ted from the procurement and distribution of personal hygiene kits.

• 303,702 children at risk and victims of violence, abuse and exploitation bene�ted from child protection services.

UNDAF 7

• 140 judges and 40 prosecutors were trained on handling child cases, with a focus on diversion and alternative measures to detention, and 400 Family and Child Protection Unit sta� in 14 states were trained on the Child Act and investigating cases of gender-based violence against children.

• The Sudan Judiciary installed audio video as a means to examine and cross examine children in different courts.

• 32,407 child victims of violence, sexual and gender-based violence, and children in con�ict with the law bene�ted from child-friendly protection services and referral provided by Family and Child Protection Units in 18 states; this resulted in diverting 10,410 child o�enders outside the judicial system.

• An Action Plan was developed and signed on Protection of Children in Armed Conflict by the Government of Sudan to prevent child recruitment by armed forces in Sudan.

• The national child protection information management system was established at the National Council of Child Welfare and focal points in 18 states were trained.

• 1,545 migrants bene�ted from the direct assistance provided through the Migrant Resource and Response Centres and their mobile response team, including medical assistance, counselling, etc.

• 336 Sudanese were assisted from 18 countries to voluntarily return to Sudan, receiving upon arrival counsel and reintegration. 89 migrants returned from Sudan to their countries of origin. Migrants were provided with pre-departure, transportation and post-arrival assistance.

• Individual biometric registration was completed for 100% of the camp-based South Sudanese population in White Nile state and initiated in East Darfur state. Progress in registration was made for Syrian refugees. In the East, the refugee registration database was veri�ed.

• 246 (31 new) community-based reconciliation mechanisms to resolve con�icts and manage projects in Darfur, South Kordofan, Blue Nile, West Kordofan and White Nile were established and strengthened. 1,280 cases were resolved with an 85% success rate and 80% of community members reporting a decrease in con�ict.

• 50 locality-level consultations were conducted under the Darfur Internal Dialogue Consultations, with outcomes incorporated in the National Dialogue recommendations.

• The Takro Dam in South Darfur was heightened to serve both farmers and nomads, protecting settlers and pastoralists from con�ict or tension. A water committee was established and an early warning system developed to manage the dam in a peaceful manner.

• A 115-km stretch of the Um Leyona migratory route in South Darfur was demarcated for pastoralists to pass through with their animals without causing damage to settlers’ farms. Farmers have respected the route boundary and cultivate far from the route.

• Small-scale projects implemented in 12 communities in South Kordofan and Blue Nile include the building of 2 classrooms in each state and the provision of grain mills to 4 communities in South Kordofan, to support peaceful relations between displaced and host communities.

• 15 return villages bene�ted from peaceful coexistence projects to reduce inter-communal con�ict and support sustainable return of the displaced populations, including installation of communal infrastructure (e.g. community centres) and basic service provision (i.e. water systems). 70,000 returnees bene�ted in Central Darfur, 20,000 in North Darfur and 2,000 in West Darfur.

• 6 police posts were constructed in return areas, bene�tting 30,000 internally displaced persons, returnees and nomads.

• 246 (31 new) community-based reconciliation mechanisms to resolve con�icts and manage projects in Darfur, South Kordofan, Blue Nile, West Kordofan and White Nile were established and strengthened. 1,280 cases were resolved with an 85% success rate and 80% of community members reporting a decrease in con�ict.

• 50 locality-level consultations were conducted under the Darfur Internal Dialogue Consultations, with outcomes incorporated in the National Dialogue recommendations.

• The Takro Dam in South Darfur was heightened to serve both farmers and nomads, protecting settlers and pastoralists from con�ict or tension. A water committee was established and an early warning system developed to manage the dam in a peaceful manner.

• A 115-km stretch of the Um Leyona migratory route in South Darfur was demarcated for pastoralists to pass through with their animals without causing damage to settlers’ farms. Farmers have respected the route boundary and cultivate far from the route.

• Small-scale projects implemented in 12 communities in South Kordofan and Blue Nile include the building of 2 classrooms in each state and the provision of grain mills to 4 communities in South Kordofan, to support peaceful relations between displaced and host communities.

• 15 return villages bene�ted from peaceful coexistence projects to reduce inter-communal con�ict and support sustainable return of the displaced populations, including installation of communal infrastructure (e.g. community centres) and basic service provision (i.e. water systems). 70,000 returnees bene�ted in Central Darfur, 20,000 in North Darfur and 2,000 in West Darfur.

• 6 police posts were constructed in return areas, bene�tting 30,000 internally displaced persons, returnees and nomads.

UNDAF Focus Area 5: Community Stabilization


• Over 3,000 households bene�ted from 122 activities such as construction of farms with irrigation systems, installation of grinding mills and oil press facilities, and construction of latrines, fences and police posts in markets in the Abyei PCA Box, Red Sea, South Kordofan and West Kordofan.

• 120 community productive infrastructure, value chain support, social services, livelihoods opportunities and economic assets were provided, bene�ting more than 10,000 households and 10,839 direct individual bene�ciaries, and some 50,000 indirect bene�ciaries.

• Agriculture equipment was provided to communities that are operating on an average of 200 feddans of land for vegetable production and rain-fed agriculture per community.

• More than 19,000 households were targeted and the private sector was engaged for local economic recovery in activities for value chain integration.

• 5 water points; 1 water network; 31 handpumps; 1 slaughterhouse; public latrines in markets and in schools in 14 di�erent locations were constructed to contribute to long-term con�ict resolution and peace building in Sudan’s states of South Kordofan, West Kordofan and Blue Nile.

• 125,130 conflict-affected persons and new internally displaced persons in Kassala, Gedaref and Red Sea maintained/increased access to improved water, sanitation and hygiene services.

• 19,355 heads of livestock in four villages in Buram locality, South Darfur were vaccinated to address the needs of the pastoral community. 50 men and women in El Radoam locality, South Darfur state were trained in beekeeping and honey production.

• 7,000 refugee returnees were registered in North Darfur with genuine refugee documentation and 37,000 estimated through pro�ling.

• Construction of 120 transitional shelters in West Darfur and a 100 transitional shelters in North Darfur was initiated for returning families.

• 8 communities in North Darfur that received Sudanese returnees from Chad implemented water system installation, rehabilitation and upgrading. 2 primary schools were constructed in Kornoi and Haramba village (North Darfur) to bene�t refugee returnees and local communities.

• Reintegration support was provided to approximately 75% of demobilized �ghters from Darfur and the South. At least 1,600 ex-combatants are at di�erent stages of reintegration. Among those, about 300 have mobilized themselves into 12 cooperatives/associations/self-help groups.

• A new multi-sector approach to returns was piloted in Um Baru to ensure that more than 30,000 returnees in the area had access to economic opportunities and could improve their self-reliance.

• Livelihoods in return areas were promoted in 6 return villages. 2,436 households (14,616 bene�ciaries) in 9 communities in Darfur were supported to improve their livelihoods. 1,839 direct bene�ciaries, including 50,000 indirect bene�ciaries were supported through the provision of livelihoods opportunities and economic infrastructure.

• 150 youth volunteers helped improve the knowledge and skills in business and environmental management of about 11,876 vulnerable community members, and provided small grants to associations, groups and vulnerable individuals enabling them to start and/or expand small businesses; 119 micro-businesses were initiated by bene�ciaries.

• Over 3,000 households bene�ted from 122 activities such as construction of farms with irrigation systems, installation of grinding mills and oil press facilities, and construction of latrines, fences and police posts in markets in the Abyei PCA Box, Red Sea, South Kordofan and West Kordofan.

• 120 community productive infrastructure, value chain support, social services, livelihoods opportunities and economic assets were provided, bene�ting more than 10,000 households and 10,839 direct individual bene�ciaries, and some 50,000 indirect bene�ciaries.

• Agriculture equipment was provided to communities that are operating on an average of 200 feddans of land for vegetable production and rain-fed agriculture per community.

• More than 19,000 households were targeted and the private sector was engaged for local economic recovery in activities for value chain integration.

• 5 water points; 1 water network; 31 handpumps; 1 slaughterhouse; public latrines in markets and in schools in 14 di�erent locations were constructed to contribute to long-term con�ict resolution and peace building in Sudan’s states of South Kordofan, West Kordofan and Blue Nile.

• 125,130 conflict-affected persons and new internally displaced persons in Kassala, Gedaref and Red Sea maintained/increased access to improved water, sanitation and hygiene services.

• 19,355 heads of livestock in four villages in Buram locality, South Darfur were vaccinated to address the needs of the pastoral community. 50 men and women in El Radoam locality, South Darfur state were trained in beekeeping and honey production.

• 7,000 refugee returnees were registered in North Darfur with genuine refugee documentation and 37,000 estimated through pro�ling.

• Construction of 120 transitional shelters in West Darfur and a 100 transitional shelters in North Darfur was initiated for returning families.

• 8 communities in North Darfur that received Sudanese returnees from Chad implemented water system installation, rehabilitation and upgrading. 2 primary schools were constructed in Kornoi and Haramba village (North Darfur) to bene�t refugee returnees and local communities.

• Reintegration support was provided to approximately 75% of demobilized �ghters from Darfur and the South. At least 1,600 ex-combatants are at di�erent stages of reintegration. Among those, about 300 have mobilized themselves into 12 cooperatives/associations/self-help groups.

• A new multi-sector approach to returns was piloted in Um Baru to ensure that more than 30,000 returnees in the area had access to economic opportunities and could improve their self-reliance.

• Livelihoods in return areas were promoted in 6 return villages. 2,436 households (14,616 bene�ciaries) in 9 communities in Darfur were supported to improve their livelihoods. 1,839 direct bene�ciaries, including 50,000 indirect bene�ciaries were supported through the provision of livelihoods opportunities and economic infrastructure.

• 150 youth volunteers helped improve the knowledge and skills in business and environmental management of about 11,876 vulnerable community members, and provided small grants to associations, groups and vulnerable individuals enabling them to start and/or expand small businesses; 119 micro-businesses were initiated by bene�ciaries.

UNDAF 9

1. IntroductionThe United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) 2013-20171 summarizes the collective contribution of United Nations (UN) agencies2 towards national development priorities in Sudan. The current UNDAF presents eight outcomes that UN agencies, in collaboration with the Government and other partners, are striving to achieve in �ve focus areas, namely: 1) economic development and poverty reduction; 2) environment, climate resilience and disaster risk management; 3) social services; 4) governance, rule of law and institutional capacity development; 5) community stabilization3. The funding available to agencies to implement the programming in the UNDAF in 2016 was approximately $207 million.

This report summarizes the main achievements of UN agencies in 2016 towards the outcomes outlined in the UNDAF.

1 The current UNDAF was initially formulated to cover the period 2013-2016. It was later extended to cover 2017 too to help align the next UNDAF with other processes such as the process to develop the National Development Plan and the Multi-Year Humanitarian Strategy.

2 Throughout this report, “agencies” refers to “agencies, funds and programmes”. UN agencies implementing development programming in Sudan are: FAO, IAEA, IFAD, ILO, IOM, UN Environment, UN-Habitat, UN Women, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNIDO, UNMAS (which restarted operations in Sudan in 2015 and is hence not part of the UNDAF or this report), UNOPS, UNV, WFP, and WHO.

3 The UNDAF summarizes the greater part of UN development programming during the period. The few UN development activities that do not fall within these �ve focus areas are excluded from the UNDAF.

Distribution of funding available in 2016 per

UNDAF focus area

UNDAF Focus Area 1: Economic Development and Poverty Reduction

11%

UNDAF Focus Area 3: Social Services56%

UNDAF Focus Area 5: Community Stabilization

9%

UNDAF Focus Area 2: Environment, Climate

Resilience and Disaster Risk Management

10%

UNDAF Focus Area 4: Governance, Rule of Law and Institutional Capacity

Development14%


Participating agencies: FAO, IAEA, IFAD, ILO, UN-Habitat, UNDP, UNIDO, UNOPS

In 2016, the UN contributed to increased access to decent work and livelihood opportunities for youth and women through vocational training and on-the-job training for young unemployed people in di�erent states. More than 600 unemployed youth, at least 30 percent women, were trained with UN support on a number of construction trades, life skills and on environmentally-friendly construction technology, while in Blue Nile state, 60 women were trained on urban agriculture. To help improve household nutrition and income, the UN assisted in providing 240 livestock owners’ households with interactive and practical training on improved milk production and fattening. In another UN intervention, 755 traditional rain-fed farmers were provided with foundation seeds and improved agronomic practices to become certi�ed seed producers. Seven hundred beneficiaries targeted by the UN also acquired enhanced entrepreneurial potential and technical skills, while 100 community animal health workers were trained to provide veterinary services on a sustainable basis. A total of 8,592 job placements (including 3,551 women) were reached with UN support with alternative sustainable livelihoods. In East Darfur, with UN assistance 300 households received income generation support activities and skills development through implementation of natural resources management, more than 600 women were trained in a range of income-generating skills, and a total of 190 sacks of gum Arabic seeds were broadcasted covering 1,080 feddans.

The UN has also provided capacity building training for government sta� and entrepreneurs. To contribute to the livelihoods and recovery of vulnerable farming and pastoral communities in Darfur, the UN conducted two entrepreneurship training of trainer workshops in South and North Darfur, and conducted 10 entrepreneur trainings for 308 women and men in South and North Darfur; 36 business ideas have been created by targeted trained entrepreneurs. Four enterprise development and investment promotion programmes were conducted with UN support; they included training of 147 entrepreneurs from the Sudanese Young Businessmen Association, Bank of Khartoum beneficiaries, Businessmen and Employers Association, and Women’s Union. The UN assisted to introduce entrepreneurship in Sudanese universities’ curriculum, and 85 participants from University of Khartoum’s School of Management were trained. To enhance meat exports from Sudan, the UN helped train 30 staff from two abattoirs in Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP). A total of 964 government staff and non-state actors (39 percent women) were trained with UN support in formulation of food security policies and programmes, while 28 government sta� were trained on food loss and waste reduction.

Beneficiaries targeted by the UN with livelihood interventions reported an increase in the overall productivity of �eld crops, vegetables and fodder by 128, 94 and 79 percent, respectively. Pastoralists supported by the UN reported increase in meat, milk and birth production by up to 104 percent, while average body weight increased by 136 percent, while up to 38,985 households became drought-resilient and land under improved agriculture reached 894,361 feddans. With UN support, more than 37,876 households had access to productive advisory services, more than 28,453 households had access to micro�nance services with SDG82 million and an increase in employment of 88-156 percent, with an increase for women of 120 percent.

To help improve livestock production, the UN supported the upgrade of molecular diagnostic methods for detecting livestock diseases and implementation of sequencing services to improve the means to identify, characterize and genotype transboundary animal diseases in veterinary laboratories, and conducted an evaluation of a vaccination trial for brucellosis using irradiated Rev-1 vaccine in sheep and goats. With the

2.a) UNDAF Focus Area 1: Economic Development and Poverty Reduction

UNDAF Outcome 1: People in Sudan, with special attention to youth, women and popu-lation in need, have improved opportunities for decent work and sustainable livelihoods and are better protected from external shocks, thereby reducing poverty

2. Main Development Achievements

UNDAF 11

aim to improve crop productivity for small-scale farmers in drought-prone areas through the application of nuclear techniques, field trials under field conditions related to soil and water management were designed with UN support, and needs-gaps were identi�ed and experimental �elds on mutation breeding for new crops were visited; it is expected that the improved and tested varieties in the focus crops will be released between 2017 and 2019 for crops ranging from sorghum (2017) and groundnut (2017) to pearl millet (2019).

The UN supported food and nutrition security in Sudan through soybean processing by establishing local processing facilities for soy milk, soy butter (dakowah), soy cake and oil as a means to help address the country’s food insecurity and nutrition situation.

On networking and building linkages between producers, researchers and academia, businessmen, youth and women groups and micro�nance institutions, a non-�nancial unit was established with UN support within the Bank of Khartoum for the provision of non-financial services to existing and start-up entrepreneurs. Also, an Entrepreneurship and Innovation Centre within the Faculty of Engineering in the University of Khartoum was established with help of the UN. Additionally, the UN assisted in the establishment of training centres for community empowerment in improving crops and livestock husbandry techniques in different states, and the construction of three veterinary clinics in Darfur for improving basic livestock veterinary care. The UN helped improve the food and nutrition security of 288,000 con�ict-a�ected farmers and nomads by supporting their agriculture- and livestock-based livelihoods through enhancing access to sustainable water, certi�ed seeds, veterinary and livestock services and inputs, and agribusiness skills, and construction and rehabilitation of 55 water facilities, namely 15 ha�rs, 20 shallow wells and 20 surface dams. To help improve access to services and markets through infrastructure, 20 sub-surface dams, 50 road structures and �ve water sources infrastructure were completed with UN support, bene�ting 67,410 persons in six villages.

The UN has introduced a south-south approach to demonstrate south-south cooperation e�ectiveness in tackling the high youth unemployment and poverty rates nationwide. A south-south cooperation country pro�le on agriculture was drafted to highlight priority areas for Sudan as recipient of such cooperation, as well as technical areas for the country as provider of south-south cooperation.

After eight years of continuous support to the Millennium Development Goals’ (MDG) achievements and monitoring in Sudan, the UN is now supporting the transition to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In 2016, it supported the accomplishment of the following: the rolling-out of a full national advocacy and communication campaign on the SDGs; the completion of the �nal MDGs report; undertaking of comprehensive stakeholder consultations to identify national priorities; establishment of the institutional roll-out mechanism, coordinated at the very senior level of the State; facilitated dialogue and coordination between the donor community and government stakeholders in charge of the process; ensured that SDGs prioritization was fully integrated in the upcoming cycle of the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF 2018-2021); organized a Mainstreaming Acceleration and Policy Support mission for the SDGs to establish a roadmap for their implementation in Sudan, with the production of a report recommending areas for acceleration.

In 2016, the UN supported the country tackle poverty in an integrated approach that laid important foundations for improvements in the areas of unemployment, climate change adaptation and peace-building. In particular, the UN focused its support on policy areas for improved poverty measurements, such as the Statistics Act.

On food security, the UN supported the revision of the National Food Security and Nutrition Policy Framework. Also, a national Food Security Information and Knowledge Sharing System was developed to strengthen and improve food security information, management, dissemination, sharing and exchange for policy makers, senior managers and national stakeholder groups (www.sudanagriculture.net). It integrates five thematic networks including Food Security Information and Knowledge Sharing System (FSIS), Nutrition Information System, Market Information System, Plant Genetic Resources Knowledge System and Desert Locust Information Network.

In 2016, the UN provided technical support to �nalize the National Agriculture Investment Plan (NAIP), which aims to transform agriculture from a sector dominated by subsistence production to a modern sector responsive to market signals and with substantial contributions to food security, poverty reduction, economic growth, foreign exchange earnings, and sustainable management of natural resources.


Rural Sudanese women have little access to land in terms of tenure and ownership, thus depriving many to uptake farming as a means of income generation. The customary law in rural areas is taken more often into consideration than the statutory law, which does not object to women’s land ownership. Although some women do undertake farming, it is a general norm that the men of their household market any farming production, hence taking charge of the generated income.

FAO, UN-Habitat, World Bank and EACOM, with support from the Ministry of Agriculture, piloted a project to provide 30 landless women with a piece of land in Salha village, which is 5 kilometres from Al Damazine. The land allotted to this project is about 10 feddans, in which two feddans are used by the Forest Corporation for seedlings production, with the rest designated for farming by the 30 women. The women formed an association although they predominantly come from three di�erent social groups that include internally displaced persons represented by Aroma community, farmers (settlers) repre-sented by the Salha community where the farm is, and nomads represented by El Fardous community. These communities usually do not mix with each other and tensions do sometimes arise.

“My life has changed after working for the Salha Farm” said Um Hani Ibrahim, who is one of the 30 women. “Although my family was not convinced at the beginning, especially my husband, I insisted to participate until I gained income” continued Um Hani who now feels “empowered” because for the first time in her life she is making an income.

The association formed by the women gave them the legal capability to have a bank account so that they can deposit their earnings from the sold produce. The association also enabled them to get the exemption of land use for the long term, which made it possible for them to have an entity that is social-ly acceptable amongst their communities.

The farm was empowered with a solar irrigation system installed by UN-Habitat to increase cost-effec-tive productivity, in addition to an elevated tank for environmentally friendly use of powered irrigation. FAO provided the seeds in the early stage of the farm and the Sudan Peace Building and Development Project implemented the capacity building, coordination and supervision. The Ministry of Agriculture provided the technical staff and the expertise required to work with the women in managing the entire farm themselves.

So far, the women have been able to produce seven cash crops, namely okra, cowpea, sorghum, pota-toes, groundnuts, eggplants and cucumbers, which were in high demand in the local markets.

Farming for Power

Women Peace Farm, Al Salha, Al Damazine locality, Blue Nile state. The women sorting the harvest of the groundnut in the Salha Peace farm.Photo by UN-Habitat

Stories from the

Field

UNDAF 12

“Now I earn additional money from my own hard work and I cover the extra household expenses, in addition of course to buying things for myself, which was not possible before” says Huda Abdel Rahman who farms at the Salha farm.

“Now I earn additional money from my own hard work and I cover the extra household expenses, in addition of course to buying things for myself, which was not possible before” says Huda Abdel Rahman who farms at the Salha farm.

“ ““Before, we did not let the women work outside of their house-hold, but the times have changed and the Salha women farm-ers convinced us that they can work and earn additional income for their families’ bene�ts”

Mohamed YousifSheikh of Salha


Participating agencies: FAO, IAEA, UN Environment, UNDP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNOPS, WFP

During 2016 the UN supported the development of the Khartoum State Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction 2016-2030 and the �nalization of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy. The UN also provided assistance to the Government of Sudan in the implementation of Multilateral Environmental Agreements, like the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the Ozone layer and the Minamata Convention on Mercury. In relation to the latter an initial assessment and a National Action Plan on Mercury in the Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining sector were developed in preparation of rati�cation of the Convention.

The UN also contributed to household resilience during the reporting period, including through support to livelihoods programming in White Nile, South Kordofan, and eastern Sudan for internally displaced persons, refugee and returnee communities, to increase levels of self-reliance and resilience to external shocks. As part of this, fuel-e�cient stoves and gas and solar cookers were introduced, while the rehabilitation of 14 community nurseries and seedling production led to the reforestation of 800 hectares of degraded land. At the same time vocational training for income generation was provided in the �elds of bakery, carpentry, milling, blacksmithing and business start-ups.

With UN support, resilience to extreme weather shocks (droughts and �oods) is being built for 193,000 people through joint programming in four localities in Kassala state (Hamish Koreb, Telkuk, North Delta, Aroma localities). Achievements in 2016 include the creation and rehabilitation of assets such as check dams, gabion walls and haffirs, and also activities such as mesquite clearance–all aimed at reducing the direct impact of the frequent droughts and floods hitting the area. In addition, activities to generate income for women and improve access to services such as health and nutrition aimed to strengthen the livelihoods capacity and wellbeing of households were carried out in these highly food-insecure communities to better withstand the impact of recurrent shocks. In the Wadi El Ku area in North Darfur two water spreading structures were built with UN support, from which 20 villages (4,000 households) bene�ted through above-average rain-fed crop yields on 5,000 feddans of land. In the same area, gully erosion control measures (diversion channels, tree and vetiver grass) were carried out and 800 farmers were supported in the construction of crescent-shaped terraces. In Gedaref, North Kodorfan, South Darfur and River Nile states, the UN helped communities adopt new water harvesting techniques, plant more than 378 hectares with trees and receive 35.5 tonnes of di�erent varieties of improved seeds, while 4,212 livestock were vaccinated.

In terms of alternative/renewable energy and environmentally sound technology, the UN system helped provide safe access to fuel and energy to internally displaced persons and refugees across Darfur, eastern Sudan and White Nile state. Approximately 281,000 households bene�ted from the use of fuel-e�cient stoves and 716,624 households from fire fuel briquette activities. This resulted in the reduction of firewood collection trips and in 40 percent less firewood consumption, equivalent to 180,000 tonnes of firewood savings, which corresponds to a reduction in deforestation of proximately 16,000 hectares of forest land per annum. Furthermore, in the east and the south of the country, the UN introduced 665 liquefied natural gas units and butane gas stoves for refugees, as well as improved mud stoves (2,800 units). At the same time, with UN support nine wells were equipped with solar-powered pumps and approximately 10,000 households were provided with alternative livelihoods activities to curb �rewood collection and selling.

In 2016 the UN helped set up and launch online a Sudan Disaster Loss and Damage Database system in consultation with the National Council for Civil Defence and concerned ministries. The URL of the database is www.sudld-nccd.gov.sd. To maintain and update the Seasonal Monitoring system, the UN provided support to the Sudan Meteorological Authority’s SAMIS system. Linked to this, a Food Security and Climate Change Analysis for Sudan was conducted to inform adaptation and mitigation programmes.

2.b) UNDAF Focus Area 2: Environment, Climate Resilience and Disaster Risk Management

UNDAF Outcome 2: Populations vulnerable to environmental risks and climate change become more resilient and relevant institutions are more e�ective in the sustainable management of natural resources

UNDAF 14

In East Darfur, over 100 women were trained with UN support in agricultural techniques before receiving vegetables seeds for their gardens. Also, members of six localities participated in a UN-supported �re management training aiming at avoiding wild�res and protecting the forest and range in their respective areas. In North Darfur, the UN helped present pastoralism to stakeholders as a rational form of land use complementary to farming, especially in the context of unpredictable climatic conditions. In another UN-supported event, 200 pastoralist and farmers participated in a community led three-dimensional mapping of a section of the Wadi El Ku catchment to promote dialogue and facilitate decision-making on the sustainable use of natural resources. With UN assistance, 3,899 farmers have bene�ted from attending training sessions on di�erent adaptation measures, during which 43,400 multi-purpose trees were planted on a total of 710 hectares of forest/range land and 28 shelterbelts were established. The UN helped conduct training on Tracking Adaptation for Measuring Development (TAMD) during the Global Exchange Workshop held in Sudan 2016; in total, 35 senior government o�cials and Climate Change Adaptation project teams participated.

National frameworks for resource mobilization, convention reporting and exchange mechanisms, including the Clearing House Mechanism (CHM) of the Convention Biological Diversity (CBD), were established and strengthened with UN support in early 2016. The website link is http://sd.chm-cbd.net/.

Around 60 percent of the population in Sudan does not have access to energy services and thus depends on burning biomass for its immediate energy needs. In regions such as Darfur cooking, for example, has become a di�cult endeavour simply because fuel is almost unavailable, especially for rural communities. To prepare a meal, women and children walk long distances to collect �rewood not only putting them at risk of violence while on route, but also contributing to rising greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) produced by burning wood. GHG emissions associated with energy from wood burn-ing, amongst other, is expected to reach over 24 million tCO2e (carbon dioxide equivalents) by 2030, a six-fold increase from 2000 levels.

A Stove that Ignites Change

Hanan Abdalla Mohammed. She lives in the village of Shagra in Darfur, Sudan. She is 37 years old and seven months pregnant with her �fth child. Since 2009 she has been involved in WFP’s Safe Access to Fuel and Energy (SAFE) programmePhoto by WFP

Stories from the

Field


Beyond reasons related to supply, lack of infrastructure, conflict, displacement, and environmental degradation have complicated access to energy services. Moreover, about 55-60 percent of the food insecure nationwide are in Darfur, where access to energy is as low as 15 percent and hunger wide-spread. In this context, the use of traditional biomass has proliferated, along with its numerous health, safety and environmental hazards, including respiratory disease from inhaling smoke while cooking, cooking burns, malnutrition due to poor food processing, and destruction of often already fragile envi-ronments.

However, with such challenges facing local populations when preparing their meals, opportunities for income generation for others have come about.

“My husband is a farmer and his income depends greatly on the amount of rain each season, which is not always su�cient for our household”, says Hanan Abdallah Mohamed, who is a 37-year-old woman and is pregnant with her fifth child. Like many, Hanan became desperate to look for a skill that enables her to establish an income-generating livelihood to support her family. She became a trainee at the UN-estab-lished SAFE centre to make fuel-efficient cook stoves and briquettes as an alternative to firewood.

The centres were developed within a broader initiative by the UN and its local partners to help commu-nities grow tree seedlings to produce sustainable supplies of �rewood within community forests to not only address the lack of livelihoods problem, but the environmental problem caused by burning �rewood.

Due to this training, the income of families with members like Hanan has considerably increased. “With the fuel-e�cient stoves and briquettes we learned to make, we can generate more income. I now have big dreams for my children and hope they will become doctors, engineers and professors.” says Hanan, who has made a livelihood out of her training.

So far, many households in the Shagra village have utilized this new way of cooking instead of their traditional ways. More importantly, the travel by women to collect wood and the usage of open �res have been reduced in the Shagra village by 40 percent.

Thanks to the SAFE intervention, Darfur has experienced 180,000 tonnes of �rewood savings, which corresponds to a reduction in deforestation of proximately 15,000 hectares of forest land per annum since 2009. The SAFE programme also has a direct impact on the GHG emissions, and continues to directly contribute to a reduction of the same depending on the scale and reach of activities.

Beyond reasons related to supply, lack of infrastructure, conflict, displacement, and environmental degradation have complicated access to energy services. Moreover, about 55-60 percent of the food insecure nationwide are in Darfur, where access to energy is as low as 15 percent and hunger wide-spread. In this context, the use of traditional biomass has proliferated, along with its numerous health, safety and environmental hazards, including respiratory disease from inhaling smoke while cooking, cooking burns, malnutrition due to poor food processing, and destruction of often already fragile envi-ronments.

However, with such challenges facing local populations when preparing their meals, opportunities for income generation for others have come about.

“My husband is a farmer and his income depends greatly on the amount of rain each season, which is not always su�cient for our household”, says Hanan Abdallah Mohamed, who is a 37-year-old woman and is pregnant with her fifth child. Like many, Hanan became desperate to look for a skill that enables her to establish an income-generating livelihood to support her family. She became a trainee at the UN-estab-lished SAFE centre to make fuel-efficient cook stoves and briquettes as an alternative to firewood.

The centres were developed within a broader initiative by the UN and its local partners to help commu-nities grow tree seedlings to produce sustainable supplies of �rewood within community forests to not only address the lack of livelihoods problem, but the environmental problem caused by burning �rewood.

Due to this training, the income of families with members like Hanan has considerably increased. “With the fuel-e�cient stoves and briquettes we learned to make, we can generate more income. I now have big dreams for my children and hope they will become doctors, engineers and professors.” says Hanan, who has made a livelihood out of her training.

So far, many households in the Shagra village have utilized this new way of cooking instead of their traditional ways. More importantly, the travel by women to collect wood and the usage of open �res have been reduced in the Shagra village by 40 percent.

Thanks to the SAFE intervention, Darfur has experienced 180,000 tonnes of �rewood savings, which corresponds to a reduction in deforestation of proximately 15,000 hectares of forest land per annum since 2009. The SAFE programme also has a direct impact on the GHG emissions, and continues to directly contribute to a reduction of the same depending on the scale and reach of activities.

““

“With the fuel-e�cient stoves and briquettes we learned to make, we can generate more income. I now have big dreams for my children and hope they will become doctors, engineers and professors.”

HananBene�ciary

UNDAF 17

Participating agencies: FAO, IAEA, UN-Habitat, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, WHO

General

Sound evidence generated with UN support was made available through the publication and dissemination of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2014 full report, �ndings of the child multidimensional and inequality study, the in-depth study on female genital mutilation-child marriage, and lessons learned from the independent evaluation of humanitarian action in North Darfur. Furthermore, the Capacity Gap Assessment of Government and Civil Society Partners related to the practices of results-based management and monitoring and evaluation in all 18 states, conducted with UN assistance, has been very instrumental for evidence-based public advocacy and better strategic prioritization of children issues in Sudan and de�ning responsive mitigation measures.

Strengthening inclusiveness of Sudanese society and “Leaving No One behind”, the UN with national partners organized the first national conference on integrating children with disabilities, where the “Sudan National Strategy for People with Disabilities: Achievements and Challenges” (National Council for People with Disability), the “Strategy for Education of Children with Disability: Achievements and Challenges” (Ministry of Education) and the “Strategy for Children with Disability: Achievements and Challenges” (Ministry of Health) were well discussed, creating frameworks for various activities.

Health

The UN and partners supported the Ministry of Health in the development of the new National Health Sector Strategic Plan 2017-2021 in a comprehensive way with involvement and engagement of 17 states, which will provide guidance in the implementation of health sector interventions in the coming �ve years. The Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Strategy 2017-2021 was also launched with UN support in August 2016. The UN also provided technical and �nancial support for: i) the development of ‘Health in All Policies’, in addition to the health financing policy, that is directly liked to achieving universal health coverage; ii) review of the national health policy; iii) �nalization and endorsement of the national policy for public health laboratories, blood transfusion policy, and policy for quality of health care; iv) conduction of the stepwise survey on communicable diseases in Khartoum in collaboration with the Ministry of Health. In addition, the UN supported a bottleneck analysis for decentralized health systems strengthening approach in Kassala, followed by a federal-level orientation for eight states.

The UN supported the government’s national campaign on reducing maternal mortality endorsed by the President, which was for the �rst time to o�cially include and urge the line government entities to work together. This initiative resulted in: a) the Primary Health Care Expansion Programme established in 2014 and sponsored by the Government took the responsibility of fully funding the basic midwifery trainings in Sudan in an attempt to increase the midwifery coverage, particularly in remote areas and underserved population; b) the recruitment of village midwives in the health system reached 100 percent in some states (e.g. Blue Nile and Red Sea) and above 25 percent in the other states.

The maternal death surveillance system was maintained and functional in all focus states as a result of direct UN support to: a) state quarterly meetings to discuss the reports on maternal deaths from the localities; b) investigations on death cases; c) development of maternal death and surveillance quarterly and annual reports; d) development and piloting of maternal death and surveillance electronic system in some states under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Health.

The UN worked with government partners to enhance Sudan’s capability to manufacture radiopharmacy cold kits, especially for cancer patients. It also provided capacity development in the area of safe practices in

2.c) UNDAF Focus Area 3: Social Services

UNDAF Outcome 3: Government and stakeholders have evidence-based policies, strate-gic plans and mechanisms to ensure an enabling environment for improved basic services


hospital radiopharmacy and technical advice on the delivery of quality brachytherapy treatment at the Radioisotopes Centre Khartoum.

The UN continued its support to the continued construction of the insectary for irradiating the malaria vector Anopheles arabiensis using the sterile insect technique.

The UN provided support to the organization of the Family Planning Conference in Khartoum facilitated by regional experts, which was an instrumental advocacy event that drew the attention of policymakers on issues of direct relevance to family planning, namely the demographic dividend and the Sustainable Development Goals. As a result, the National Population Council emphasized the role of family planning in the Programme of Action of the National Population Policy. At state level, the UN supported advocacy and awareness raising implemented by religious leaders who were trained/sensitized on family planning. In many states, this has manifested in increasing the uptake of services. The UN continued its support to conduct the annual facility-based Reproductive Health Commodity Survey, which provides information for forecasting and procurement of family planning commodities. The �ndings of the survey resulted in availability and less stock-outs of contraceptives in health facilities.

Nutrition

As a result of the leadership role of the Government of Sudan, the multi-sectorial planning to tackle malnutrition has greatly improved. This is evidenced by Sudan o�cially joining the Scaling Up Nutrition movement as the 57th member of the network. With UN support, the policy environment for nutrition was further strengthened with the appointment of a government national Scaling Up Nutrition focal point, the creation of the Scaling Up Nutrition country networks, the launch of the Nutrition Investment Case and the development of a multi-sectoral plan of action, under government leadership, that positons nutrition at the centre of development policies and programmes. The Nutrition Investment Case is a joint advocacy document developed by the Federal Ministry of Health and the UN to scale up high-impact nutrition-specific and -sensitive interventions.

The UN also invested in capacity building for the federal and state Ministries of Health through signed memoranda of understanding and technical agreements. Main achievements were: i) supporting the Scaling Up Nutrition movement through the development of the seven memoranda of understanding to create the UN+ network; and ii) Support to the Micronutrient De�ciency Strategy development.

The UN supported nutrition assessments and reporting in the states of Kassala, Red sea, Gedaref and Blue Nile within the developed structures for food security and nutrition information systems. The UN also supported the establishment of taskforces in the four states to enhance multi-sectoral coordination in policy development processes, and trained 25 government sta� on the aspects of food security and nutrition policies and strategies intervention and their implications on food security and nutrition situation.


There were positive changes in the cooperation among leading governmental institutions in water, sanitation and hygiene, mainly the Ministry of Water Resources and Electricity and the Ministry of Health as the result of the UN’s and partners’ evidence-based advocacy and follow-up. These positive changes were manifested in the Government’s allocation of $1,448,230 as separate funding for sanitation promotion at national and state levels, in addition to a national water atlas to monitor water supply sources in Sudan which is currently being developed as a result of a Minister of Water Resources and Electricity initiative. 2016 also saw the development of the National Sanitation Strategic Framework, paving the way for holistic scaling-up of access to improved sanitation in the country. Furthermore, in partnership with the African Development Bank and with the UN support, the Ministry of Water Resources and Electricity and the Ministry of Health are undertaking a major sector reform focusing on the main water, sanitation and hygiene sector reform components including overall sector coordination, 2017-2021 strategic plans, national policy, investment plan and capacity development.

Looking at improving the access of Sudanese to fresh water, the UN in collaboration with Ministry of Water Resources and Electricity organized a set of national and international workshops for assessing and prioritizing the needs in Sudan on water harvesting and groundwater recharge.

hospital radiopharmacy and technical advice on the delivery of quality brachytherapy treatment at the Radioisotopes Centre Khartoum.

The UN continued its support to the continued construction of the insectary for irradiating the malaria vector Anopheles arabiensis using the sterile insect technique.

The UN provided support to the organization of the Family Planning Conference in Khartoum facilitated by regional experts, which was an instrumental advocacy event that drew the attention of policymakers on issues of direct relevance to family planning, namely the demographic dividend and the Sustainable Development Goals. As a result, the National Population Council emphasized the role of family planning in the Programme of Action of the National Population Policy. At state level, the UN supported advocacy and awareness raising implemented by religious leaders who were trained/sensitized on family planning. In many states, this has manifested in increasing the uptake of services. The UN continued its support to conduct the annual facility-based Reproductive Health Commodity Survey, which provides information for forecasting and procurement of family planning commodities. The �ndings of the survey resulted in availability and less stock-outs of contraceptives in health facilities.

Nutrition

As a result of the leadership role of the Government of Sudan, the multi-sectorial planning to tackle malnutrition has greatly improved. This is evidenced by Sudan o�cially joining the Scaling Up Nutrition movement as the 57th member of the network. With UN support, the policy environment for nutrition was further strengthened with the appointment of a government national Scaling Up Nutrition focal point, the creation of the Scaling Up Nutrition country networks, the launch of the Nutrition Investment Case and the development of a multi-sectoral plan of action, under government leadership, that positons nutrition at the centre of development policies and programmes. The Nutrition Investment Case is a joint advocacy document developed by the Federal Ministry of Health and the UN to scale up high-impact nutrition-specific and -sensitive interventions.

The UN also invested in capacity building for the federal and state Ministries of Health through signed memoranda of understanding and technical agreements. Main achievements were: i) supporting the Scaling Up Nutrition movement through the development of the seven memoranda of understanding to create the UN+ network; and ii) Support to the Micronutrient De�ciency Strategy development.

The UN supported nutrition assessments and reporting in the states of Kassala, Red sea, Gedaref and Blue Nile within the developed structures for food security and nutrition information systems. The UN also supported the establishment of taskforces in the four states to enhance multi-sectoral coordination in policy development processes, and trained 25 government sta� on the aspects of food security and nutrition policies and strategies intervention and their implications on food security and nutrition situation.


There were positive changes in the cooperation among leading governmental institutions in water, sanitation and hygiene, mainly the Ministry of Water Resources and Electricity and the Ministry of Health as the result of the UN’s and partners’ evidence-based advocacy and follow-up. These positive changes were manifested in the Government’s allocation of $1,448,230 as separate funding for sanitation promotion at national and state levels, in addition to a national water atlas to monitor water supply sources in Sudan which is currently being developed as a result of a Minister of Water Resources and Electricity initiative. 2016 also saw the development of the National Sanitation Strategic Framework, paving the way for holistic scaling-up of access to improved sanitation in the country. Furthermore, in partnership with the African Development Bank and with the UN support, the Ministry of Water Resources and Electricity and the Ministry of Health are undertaking a major sector reform focusing on the main water, sanitation and hygiene sector reform components including overall sector coordination, 2017-2021 strategic plans, national policy, investment plan and capacity development.

Looking at improving the access of Sudanese to fresh water, the UN in collaboration with Ministry of Water Resources and Electricity organized a set of national and international workshops for assessing and prioritizing the needs in Sudan on water harvesting and groundwater recharge.

UNDAF 19

Education

The UN and development partners supported the Ministry of Education to leverage funding from the Global Partnerships for Education to develop a �ve-year Education Sector Strategic Plan for the period 2018-2022. With the funding the Federal Ministry of Education conducted the Education Sector Analysis with signi�cant support and involvement from the UN. The draft report is currently under review and the �nal report will be available by the end of 2017.

The study on education cost and �nancing was produced with UN support. The study provides information on the level of government budget spending on general education at the national, state and locality level, as well as education-related costs provided by families. The study will be used to assist the government in effective financial planning for general education to ensure equitable access for all children through enabling a costed Education Sector Strategic Plan 2018-2022.

The UN contributed to unpacking for the country the Sustainable Development Goal 4 (“Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”). Workshops for high-level functionaries from federal and state Ministries of Education and from the National Council for Literacy and Adult Education were organized, and the issues and indicators for the goal were discussed.

The UN started the assessment study of policy gaps in Sudan in view of Education 2030. The Country Background Report was completed by the national team representing the education sector of the country.

Strengthening inclusive education in Sudan, the UN supported the Ministry of Education to develop training materials for empowering teachers in their work with students with learning di�culties and a teachers’ guide for work with deaf students.

Protection

The UN conducted data collection through expanded �eld monitoring presence of refugee, internally displaced and returnee situations, to support evidence-based interventions and advocacy. The UN completed individual biometric registration for 100 percent of the camp-based South Sudanese population in White Nile state and initiated the same activity in East Darfur state. Progress in registration was also made for Syrian refugees, with the start of a joint registration exercise with the Commission of Refugees, and as of December 2016, 6,997 Syrians had been registered. In the East, key achievements included the veri�cation of the refugee registration database conducted jointly with the Sudanese Directorate of Passports and Immigration. As of end 2016, in total 9,410 asylum-seekers crossed the Sudanese borders and were registered on manifest by the Commission of Refugees in �ve entry points.

The UN conducted participatory gender/age/vulnerability-sensitive assessments for assessing the needs of people of concern, programming of protection and assistance and in monitoring of programme implementation by partners, in all relevant areas, with the exception of Khartoum.

Urbanization

The UN helped develop two regional spatial planning strategies for Darfur and Blue Nile as a functional methodology that has been designed to facilitate a smooth transition from humanitarian relief to early recovery, reconstruction and economic development in those regions of Sudan to achieve a more territorially-balanced development of the states. Two urban structural plans were formulated for Al Damazine and El Roseiris cities in Blue Nile (2017-2031) to address demographics and urbanization trends, current and long-term basic service and living conditions of the displaced population and host communities.

Education

The UN and development partners supported the Ministry of Education to leverage funding from the Global Partnerships for Education to develop a �ve-year Education Sector Strategic Plan for the period 2018-2022. With the funding the Federal Ministry of Education conducted the Education Sector Analysis with signi�cant support and involvement from the UN. The draft report is currently under review and the �nal report will be available by the end of 2017.

The study on education cost and �nancing was produced with UN support. The study provides information on the level of government budget spending on general education at the national, state and locality level, as well as education-related costs provided by families. The study will be used to assist the government in effective financial planning for general education to ensure equitable access for all children through enabling a costed Education Sector Strategic Plan 2018-2022.

The UN contributed to unpacking for the country the Sustainable Development Goal 4 (“Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”). Workshops for high-level functionaries from federal and state Ministries of Education and from the National Council for Literacy and Adult Education were organized, and the issues and indicators for the goal were discussed.

The UN started the assessment study of policy gaps in Sudan in view of Education 2030. The Country Background Report was completed by the national team representing the education sector of the country.

Strengthening inclusive education in Sudan, the UN supported the Ministry of Education to develop training materials for empowering teachers in their work with students with learning di�culties and a teachers’ guide for work with deaf students.

Protection

The UN conducted data collection through expanded �eld monitoring presence of refugee, internally displaced and returnee situations, to support evidence-based interventions and advocacy. The UN completed individual biometric registration for 100 percent of the camp-based South Sudanese population in White Nile state and initiated the same activity in East Darfur state. Progress in registration was also made for Syrian refugees, with the start of a joint registration exercise with the Commission of Refugees, and as of December 2016, 6,997 Syrians had been registered. In the East, key achievements included the veri�cation of the refugee registration database conducted jointly with the Sudanese Directorate of Passports and Immigration. As of end 2016, in total 9,410 asylum-seekers crossed the Sudanese borders and were registered on manifest by the Commission of Refugees in �ve entry points.

The UN conducted participatory gender/age/vulnerability-sensitive assessments for assessing the needs of people of concern, programming of protection and assistance and in monitoring of programme implementation by partners, in all relevant areas, with the exception of Khartoum.

Urbanization

The UN helped develop two regional spatial planning strategies for Darfur and Blue Nile as a functional methodology that has been designed to facilitate a smooth transition from humanitarian relief to early recovery, reconstruction and economic development in those regions of Sudan to achieve a more territorially-balanced development of the states. Two urban structural plans were formulated for Al Damazine and El Roseiris cities in Blue Nile (2017-2031) to address demographics and urbanization trends, current and long-term basic service and living conditions of the displaced population and host communities.


The recruitment and use of children during armed con�ict is one of the six grave violations a�ecting children in con�ict identi�ed and monitored by the UN Security Council. All seven countries whose national security forces are listed by the UN Secretary-General for recruitment and use of children in armed con�ict committed to the objective of ‘Children, not Soldiers’, a global campaign to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children by government security forces. Sudan was the last of the seven countries to sign an action plan for the protection of children in armed con�ict. Within this context, the UN in Sudan has been working with national partners and armed forces listed in the Secretary-General’s report on Children and Armed Con�ict, including the Government of Sudan Armed Forces, to end the recruitment and use of children.

Programmatically, this e�ort contributes to the ongoing support provided to government partners in developing evidence-based policies, strategic plans and mechanisms to ensure an enabling environ-ment for improved social services.

“Children are our priority and the signing of this Action Plan further demonstrates the Government’s commitment to the protection of children from con�ict. The Government is fully committed to ensure full implementation of the Action Plan signed today and work in partnership with the United Nations in this regard” said Her Excellency Mashaer Mohamed Al-Amin Abdallah, Minister of Welfare and Social Security.

Originally signed by the Government and the UN on 27 March 2016 for an initial period of 12 months until full compliance, the Action Plan set out a series of measures to enhance the overall protection of children a�ected by armed con�ict, including the cessation and prevention of child recruitment. The Government has shown serious commitment to fully implement the Action Plan. Several steps have already been taken by the Government to ensure its implementation, including establishing relevant structures at the national and state level for its implementation, providing access for veri�cation, send-ing command orders and undertaking steps to access age veri�cation mechanisms.

Key milestones so far have included Government directives to end the recruitment and use of children in its forces, as well as providing the UN access for the purposes of monitoring and veri�cation. The Vice-President has also engaged with walis (state governors) on the need to support implementation

Action Plan for the Protection of Children in Armed Con�ict

Government of Sudan Signing the Action Plan with the UN in March 2016Photo by UNICEF

Stories from the

Field

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at the state level. The Sudan Police directives that were instilled in November 2016 detailed regulations based on the Child Law 2010 on non-recruitment of children in its forces as to ensure the protection of children. These directives were based as Presidential Decree #77 in 2016, which was circulated to police departments.

The UN is hopeful that the Government can address remaining gaps in the full implementation of the Action Plan. Key steps remaining include continued monitoring in all states; the establishment of clear procedures for identi�cation and screening of any children in the Armed Forces; and the implementation of complaint procedures and awareness-raising activities. The UN continues to work with the Govern-ment to support the full implementation of the Action Plan.

“ ““Children are our priority and the signing of this Action Plan fur-ther demonstrates Government’s commitment to protection children from Con�ict ...”

HE Mashaer Mohamed Al-Amin AbdallahMinister of Welfare and Social Security


Participating agencies: FAO, UN-Habitat, UNAIDS, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNOPS, WFP

Health

In 2016, more vulnerable children in underserved and emergency-a�ected areas had access to and used quality life-saving immunization and maternal and newborn services. The national annualized coverage of routine measles vaccination of children under one year is on track at 84 percent, and 4,383,506 aged six months to 15 years in the six target states were vaccinated against measles with UN support, while 4.2 million children under �ve years of age, including South Sudanese refugees, were reached during two rounds of polio sub-national immunization days. Eighty-eight percent of live births were attended by a skilled health personnel (doctor, nurse, midwife, or community midwife). The increase in geographic coverage of feeding centres from 893 to 1,172 and the enhanced capacity of health service providers (doctor, nurse, midwife, or community midwife) have also been achieved with UN support along with the provision of essential nutrition and reproductive health supplies at health facilities and to community midwives.

The UN facilitated demand creation through the successful rollout of the Alshu�a’a Alsoghar communication initiative to promote six essential family practices in 27 target localities of seven states. The six essential family practices are: use of bed nets, breastfeeding, correct use of oral rehydration solutions, handwashing, taking children for vaccination, and promoting antenatal care. Nearly 700,000 individuals acquired comprehensive knowledge on the six essential practices through direct engagement in Alshu�a’a events. In addition to the Alshu�’a communication initiative, with UN support the trained personnel undertook social mobilization campaigns and encouraged women to attend antenatal care services as well as promoting the other essential family practices promoted in Sudan. About 79 percent of pregnant women attended antenatal care at least four times during pregnancy by October 2016.

With UN support, the average number of antenatal care visits (with four visits) in �ve of the focus states (Kassala, White Nile, Blue Nile, South Darfur and North Darfur) increased from 28,005 in 2015 to 49,779 in 2016 (77.7 percent increase), with a minimum increase of 28.6 percent in North Darfur and a maximum increase of 127 percent in South Darfur; while Kassala and Blue Nile states had a double increase from 2015. Speci�c achievements that the UN contributed to support these results were: a) 200 candidates were selected to be enrolled in basic community midwifery training in two states with gap in midwifery coverage; b) coordination was maintained among midwives in all localities of the focus states through meetings and supervision visits; c) the newly established Midwifery Associations in the �ve states were technically and �nancially supported; 90 village midwives received in-service training on standard obstetric care. In addition, the UN supported the improvement in quality of maternal and newborn life-saving interventions through capacity building of 903 health service providers (doctors, medical assistants and midwives) and provision of essential reproductive health supplies to 46 health facilities and 470 community midwives.

There was an average increase of comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care coverage of �ve percent and basic emergency obstetric and newborn care of six percent in UN focus states. One state, Gedaref, showed a signi�cant decrease in the coverage due to the high turnover of medical doctors. This overall achievement, to which the UN contributed, was the result of: a) 279 obstetric emergency cases supported to be referred in three states; b) 425 health visitors and assistant health visitors trained on safe motherhood protocols; c) 115 medical doctors and sisters trained on protocols of management of direct causes of maternal death (emergency obstetric and newborn care coverage); d) piloting the use of Misoprostol and Magnesium sulphate by midwives at community level in Gedaref state; e) four health facilities providing emergency obstetric and newborn care coverage rehabilitated in two states; f ) 50 �stula cases treated (30 in Darfur and 20 in Blue Nile state). In humanitarian settings (Darfur and White Nile states), speci�c support resulted in: a) 100,810 women bene�ted directly from the procurement of emergency reproductive health kits (including 23,800 bene�tting from life-saving drugs; b) emergency preparedness and response plans for 2016 developed in Blue Nile and Kassala and 35 persons trained; c) 72 health care providers trained on minimal initial service package. A total of 123 new UN-supported health facilities were providing integrated management of childhood illness services and reached approximately 2.6 million children under �ve years with essential services for pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria.

UNDAF Outcome 4: People in Sudan, with special emphasis on populations in need, have access to equitable and sustainable quality basic services

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According to the UN-supported 2016 Reproductive Health Commodity Security survey, 43 percent of the health facilities reported stock-out of at least three contraceptive methods in the last three months, compared to 95 percent stock-out in 2015. According to the 2016 Reproductive Health Commodity Security survey, the provision of family planning methods by type of health facility was as follows: (i) 9.8 percent of the primary health care facilities o�ered at least three methods, while 90.2 percent o�ered at least two methods. The average number of new users of family planning contraceptives decreased from 10,082 in 2015 to 4,658 in 2016 (53.8 percent decrease).

The UN provided support to the delivery of basic services to refugees and host communities, through state structures, in selected areas and to interventions that reduce dependency on parallel service structures. It also provided support to and advocacy with relevant stakeholders to access services in the areas of (a) scaling up primary education for refugees, internally displaced persons, returnees and host communities, with Sudan as a pilot rollout country for UNHCR’s Global Education Strategy, as well as within the framework of a planned memorandum of understanding between the UN and the Ministry of Education; (b) advocacy with health partners and stakeholders for enabling quality and equitable access to basic health services; (c) provision of water services in key areas of internally displaced persons return to sustain livelihoods of both returnees and receiving communities.

Support from the UN was provided to internally displaced persons, refugee and returnee communities to foster engagement in community management of basic services and needs assessments, including age, gender and diversity issues that can support decisions on community projects to sustain refugee and internally displaced persons return.

The UN and its partners were able to provide support and services to refugees of all nationalities. Refugees in Darfur and all camp-based refugees in the East received ongoing basic services. Extensive health services were provided, including medical consultations and treatment, which improved the health and well-being of many refugees. Urban refugees, the majority of which are Syrian, Yemeni, Eritrean and Ethiopian, were also provided with health services. Education, sexual and gender-based violence and child protection remained key priorities. Survivors of sexual and gender-based violence who approached the UN in Khartoum received �nancial assistance and were referred to appropriate services.

The UN constructed seven health facilities in North, South, West and Central Darfur states, and Blue Nile and Khartoum states, including one midwifery school in Kutum. The school will strengthen the primary health care system in the Kutum locality, North Darfur state, by targeting one the most vulnerable areas, especially where returnees are concentrated, based on discussions with partners and local authorities. With the construction of the seven facilities, 106,000 persons have access to health services in their locations. On the other hand, the UN promoted the use of stabilized soil blocks as environmentally friendly and a�ordable technology for construction for the communities.

HIV

Forty-�ve prevention of mother-to-child transmission health care providers were trained with UN assistance. The UN also helped set up prevention of mother-to-child services in seven new health facilities, including clinics providing services to South Sudanese refugees in White Nile state. In addition, with UN support, 384 health care providers were trained and supervised on the job on the application of the new prevention of mother-to-child transmission guidelines, while uptake of services was increased by providing 24 mobile prevention of mother-to-child transmission services in antenatal care centres with no such services.

Four thousand five hundred prison inmates and officers in four prisons in Khartoum were reached with UN support with prevention information and voluntary counselling, while testing was provided to 1,500 people. Sixteen people were found positive and were actively referred with UN assistance to the nearest antiretroviral therapy centre for con�rmatory testing and initiation of treatment.

The UN continued throughout 2016 to provide strategic guidance and technical support to people living with HIV associations to actively engage in the national response supporting their institutional and technical capacities. The UN also focused on sensitization of di�erent partners on ending stigma and discrimination towards people living with HIV. A national campaign was launched jointly by the UN and the state Minister of Health under the theme “dignity for all” to end stigma in health care settings.


Nutrition

The UN and partners continued the implementation of the joint national community-based management of acute malnutrition scale-up plan (with the Ministry of Health), opening 342 new treatment sites for severe acute malnutrition in 2016 (cumulative 1,235), increasing the proportion of health facilities with severe acute malnutrition treatment to 44 percent (from 35 percent at the end of 2015). With this increase, the Ministry of Health, the UN and partners have managed to treat a record number of 224,517 children with severe acute malnutrition in both emergency and non-emergency settings. This is the largest annual increase in the number of children reached since the community-based management of acute malnutrition started as a national programme.

Furthermore, the UN continues to support resilience building and to facilitate the utilization of social services by communities through sensitization of the poorest and the most vulnerable households. In enhancing the resilience of target communities, the �agship joint Nutrition Resilience Project in the east of Sudan is working to implement an integrated package to improve households’ and communities’ resilience to droughts and �oods with a central focus in improving maternal and child nutrition status. A total of 96,038 children (48,499 boys and 47,539 girls) and their households living in the 75 most deprived villages in four localities have bene�ted from an integrated package of health, water, sanitation, hygiene, nutrition, food security and livelihood interventions.

For prevention of malnutrition, UN support is concentrated at community level in 22 of the most deprived localities through a network of 1,480 mother support groups that provide individual counselling, support and information to mothers to enable better breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices, so addressing one of the major known underlying causes of childhood malnutrition reaching 570,478 caretakers.

A total number of 105,000 students in North Kordofan state were provided, with UN support, with school meals comprising cereal, pulses, vegetable oil and salt. The parent-teacher associations/communities complemented these items by providing additional condiments subject to their �nancial capacities. The state Ministry of Education provided the transport cost from the UN warehouses to the secondary delivery point and the parent-teacher associations/communities delivered the meals to the schools.


The UN’s assistance has e�ectively contributed in the provision of safe drinking water to nearly 3.1 million vulnerable people (half of them children) in emergency situations and unserved rural areas. The increased access to and use of improved drinking water sources has signi�cantly contributed to the reduction of children diarrhoea as per Ministry of Health reports, in which such cases among South Sudanese refugee children under �ve were reduced by 66 percent, in association with the operation of new UN-supported improved water sources for around 70,000 South Sudanese refugees. Massive interventions, mainly water disinfection, against acute watery diarrhoea epidemics that a�ected seven states with the total caseload of 5,054 and 138 deaths (November 2016) e�ectively contributed to the dramatic reduction of the reported cases with no new reported cases in six out of seven a�ected states.

To support an increase in access to improved sanitation services, UN assistance continued through the construction of sanitation facilities in emergency-a�ected areas and promotion of improved sanitation practices in underserved rural areas, which enabled community action to adopt positive social norms that resulted in reaching community open defecation free status. Subsequently, 1,230,715 emergency-affected and vulnerable rural people gained access to improved sanitation facilities. In addition, with UN support 1,191 communities were declared open defecation free.

UN-supported hygiene promotion interventions reached over 4.3 million people across various parts of the country, while in schools interventions reached more than 83,000 pupils with access to safe water and another 73,000 pupils with improved sanitation and handwashing facilities. Through water supply and sanitation interventions, the UN bene�ted 72 and 68 health/nutrition centres, respectively.

Nutrition

The UN and partners continued the implementation of the joint national community-based management of acute malnutrition scale-up plan (with the Ministry of Health), opening 342 new treatment sites for severe acute malnutrition in 2016 (cumulative 1,235), increasing the proportion of health facilities with severe acute malnutrition treatment to 44 percent (from 35 percent at the end of 2015). With this increase, the Ministry of Health, the UN and partners have managed to treat a record number of 224,517 children with severe acute malnutrition in both emergency and non-emergency settings. This is the largest annual increase in the number of children reached since the community-based management of acute malnutrition started as a national programme.

Furthermore, the UN continues to support resilience building and to facilitate the utilization of social services by communities through sensitization of the poorest and the most vulnerable households. In enhancing the resilience of target communities, the �agship joint Nutrition Resilience Project in the east of Sudan is working to implement an integrated package to improve households’ and communities’ resilience to droughts and �oods with a central focus in improving maternal and child nutrition status. A total of 96,038 children (48,499 boys and 47,539 girls) and their households living in the 75 most deprived villages in four localities have bene�ted from an integrated package of health, water, sanitation, hygiene, nutrition, food security and livelihood interventions.

For prevention of malnutrition, UN support is concentrated at community level in 22 of the most deprived localities through a network of 1,480 mother support groups that provide individual counselling, support and information to mothers to enable better breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices, so addressing one of the major known underlying causes of childhood malnutrition reaching 570,478 caretakers.

A total number of 105,000 students in North Kordofan state were provided, with UN support, with school meals comprising cereal, pulses, vegetable oil and salt. The parent-teacher associations/communities complemented these items by providing additional condiments subject to their �nancial capacities. The state Ministry of Education provided the transport cost from the UN warehouses to the secondary delivery point and the parent-teacher associations/communities delivered the meals to the schools.


The UN’s assistance has e�ectively contributed in the provision of safe drinking water to nearly 3.1 million vulnerable people (half of them children) in emergency situations and unserved rural areas. The increased access to and use of improved drinking water sources has signi�cantly contributed to the reduction of children diarrhoea as per Ministry of Health reports, in which such cases among South Sudanese refugee children under �ve were reduced by 66 percent, in association with the operation of new UN-supported improved water sources for around 70,000 South Sudanese refugees. Massive interventions, mainly water disinfection, against acute watery diarrhoea epidemics that a�ected seven states with the total caseload of 5,054 and 138 deaths (November 2016) e�ectively contributed to the dramatic reduction of the reported cases with no new reported cases in six out of seven a�ected states.

To support an increase in access to improved sanitation services, UN assistance continued through the construction of sanitation facilities in emergency-a�ected areas and promotion of improved sanitation practices in underserved rural areas, which enabled community action to adopt positive social norms that resulted in reaching community open defecation free status. Subsequently, 1,230,715 emergency-affected and vulnerable rural people gained access to improved sanitation facilities. In addition, with UN support 1,191 communities were declared open defecation free.

UN-supported hygiene promotion interventions reached over 4.3 million people across various parts of the country, while in schools interventions reached more than 83,000 pupils with access to safe water and another 73,000 pupils with improved sanitation and handwashing facilities. Through water supply and sanitation interventions, the UN bene�ted 72 and 68 health/nutrition centres, respectively.

UNDAF 25

The UN supported the rehabilitation of seven shallow drinking wells in Darfur, and water supply systems in El Fasher and Zalingei were assessed, covering water sources, pumps, reservoirs, transmission mains, distribution lines, supply zones and related characteristics of the systems. A water market study was conducted in both towns and the corresponding draft report was compiled. Following a phased approach, the internally displaced community in El Fasher has signed an agreement with the State Water Corporation/Urban Water Administration/Water and Environmental Sanitation for bulk supply of urban water to the internally displaced communities for distribution through the internally displaced persons’ water supply network under a community-managed tari� system.

In East Sudan, refugees and surrounding villages accessed water supply 100 percent in each of the camps, as targeted, with an average of 32 litres per person per day. All the camps recorded an adequate water supply except in Shagharab I, II and III camps, which supplied averagely 19 litres per person per day.

In East Sudan, the UN’s implementing partners successfully o�ered hygiene promotion awareness and training to 153 hygiene promotion volunteers, 86 sanitation and hygiene promotion sta� and the water, sanitation and hygiene committee throughout all nine camps.

Due to investments made by the UN and partners in White Nile state camps, the per capita water consumption increased from 16 to 20 litres per person per day. In Darfur, 8,050 refugees in Um Shalaya camp had access to 20 litres per person per day of clean water; while six hand pumps, one borehole and a water yard were maintained/rehabilitated. Refugee return areas in North Darfur have poor access to basic service provision, including safe water supply, which can cause con�ict with surrounding communities over scarcity of natural resources, and is ultimately a barrier to sustainable return. The UN implemented water system installation, rehabilitation and upgrading in eight return communities.

Education

The UN, in partnership with the federal and state Ministries of Education and non-governmental organizations and other partners, enabled 276,091 (48 percent girls) rural, nomadic and emergency-a�ected previously out-of-school children to enrol in basic education. The number of out-of-school children declined from the baseline of 1,286,265 in 2014 to 326,551 in 2016, representing a 78.9 percent reduction in out-of-school children in UN-targeted localities. Enrolment increased from 5,229,455 children (48.2 percent girls) to 5,618,103 (52.6 percent girls) between the 2014/15 and 2015/16 academic years. The gender parity index registered signi�cant progress and increased from 0.93 in 2014/15 to 0.98 in 2015/16 indicating that more girls are enrolling.

The UN supported building resilience and adaptability of children in marginalized communities through capacity building of 3,373 parent teacher associations and school improvement planning committees (40 percent women) from 950 schools in developing, implementing, �nancing and monitoring of school improvement plans to enhance quality and inclusive education, and contributed to the long-term goals of improved learning outcomes, retention and completion rates among students. A total of 3,171 school improvement plan grants were provided in 18 states, of which 212 were provided by the UN.

The UN supported the National Literacy Campaign, organizing together with the National Council for Literacy and Adult Education the training-of-trainers sessions in Al Gezira and River Nile states. Altogether about forty trainers were trained, targeting to cover 13,000 teachers per year improving education of about 0.5 million students of out-of-school classrooms.

The UN, guided by the Global Education Strategy, objectives and approaches continued to support access to quality education. Urban refugee children and refugee children in Darfur received learning materials, school uniforms or were supported with school fees, reducing the burden on the most vulnerable families.

Due to the ongoing in�ux of South Sudanese new arrival refugees, coupled with insu�cient funding for the response, basic services for refugees in the camps were insu�cient. Plans to support host communities in the Kordofans and in Khartoum did not progress as planned. For example, refugee boys and girls in the White Nile camps study in overcrowded classrooms with an average classroom to student ratio of 1:123, necessitating the running of two shifts in schools to accommodate the children, and this has made provision of quality education very difficult. The UN strategy is to work closely with the Ministry of Education at the federal level to streamline refugees into existing national education services and enhance the overall


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capacity of the national system to provide quality education to refugee and host community children in the urban context. To this end, in 2016, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the UN and the Ministry of Education in a bid to enhance mutual collaboration to streamline refugees into existing services and policies, following a joint consultation and coordination workshop organized in Khartoum with the participation of educational representatives from all refugee hosting areas in Sudan.

The Secondary School for Girls was constructed in Elfath 1, Karari locality, Khartoum state with UN assistance. The school is serving the internally displaced reintegrated community and has reduced the pressure on the existing secondary school, which was functioning in two shifts with overcrowded classrooms.

Infrastructure

The UN supported the rehabilitation/construction of access roads and crossing points: 50 road structures were investigated and designed, four road structures were completed, two roads structures are in progress and 17 road structures are on the way to procurement.

Two youth centres were established in Blue Nile and Khartoum states, serving as a social hub for youth, women and children. The UN has applied the environmentally friendly, low cost construction technology to construct these facilities as demonstration buildings to promote the technology.

Sudan remains one of the main destinations of South Sudanese refugees seeking protection from the ongoing conflict that erupted in December 2013 in South Sudan. As of 15 April 2017, the UNHCR estimated that there were 142,622 South Sudanese refugees in White Nile state. The in�ux of refugees to White Nile state stressed the hosting population, which is already su�ering from limited improved water resources, thus causing some social tensions between the hosting and refugee populations.

As a state, White Nile is characterized by poor groundwater potential which leaves surface water. This means that the White Nile River is the only option to be considered for the development of sustainable water supply in the area. The development of a sustainable water supply system as a long-term measure in response to the protracted nature of the context thus requires action beyond the humanitarian response phases which utilize water trucking.

Sustainable Water Supply System for Host Communities and South Sudanese Refugees in White Nile

Water collection points in Al-Waral campPhoto by UNICEF

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The UN supported the construction of a surface water system which consisted of a river intake pump in two Oxfam tanks as a mini-reservoir, main distribution line and distribution points. The temporary water supply system however o�ered limited water production capacity and struggled to keep up with increasing water demand resulting from the additional in�ux of refugees, and from the urgent need to respond to the water requirements of host communities. Moreover, the quality of water produced from the emergency water treatment system is highly variable and depends on the skills of operators in charge of manual �occulation such as removal of suspended particles and disinfection of raw water.

“The river water is not good because it is not safe and causes many diseases, but the water from the bladders is clear and clean because it is treated at water stations by chlorine” says Camp Leader of Redis 1.

The UN supported the construction of a surface water system which consisted of a river intake pump in two Oxfam tanks as a mini-reservoir, main distribution line and distribution points. The temporary water supply system however o�ered limited water production capacity and struggled to keep up with increasing water demand resulting from the additional in�ux of refugees, and from the urgent need to respond to the water requirements of host communities. Moreover, the quality of water produced from the emergency water treatment system is highly variable and depends on the skills of operators in charge of manual �occulation such as removal of suspended particles and disinfection of raw water.

“The river water is not good because it is not safe and causes many diseases, but the water from the bladders is clear and clean because it is treated at water stations by chlorine” says Camp Leader of Redis 1.

To improve the access to safe water supply, for drinking and personal hygiene, the UN supported the construction of �ve sustainable water systems, which included: two water treatment plants with capaci-ty of 20m3/ hour, two water treatment plants capacity of 30 m3/hour and one with treatment plant capacity of 60 m3/hour. The five water systems were installed in Al-Waral, Al Redais, Al Kashafab and Joury areas of Al Salam locality and Al Alagaya area of Al Jabalain locality in White Nile state. The main purpose of the �ve water supply systems was to provide safe water supply to South Sudanese refugees and host communities, promote social cohesion between the two communities and reduce tensions caused by limited water resources.

The five water supply system currently provide equitable and sustainable access to safe water supply for 101,525 South Sudanese refugees in six camps and 31,000 host community members surrounding the refugees camps. The average daily water share for White Nile South Sudanese refugees is estimated at

To improve the access to safe water supply, for drinking and personal hygiene, the UN supported the construction of �ve sustainable water systems, which included: two water treatment plants with capaci-ty of 20m3/ hour, two water treatment plants capacity of 30 m3/hour and one with treatment plant capacity of 60 m3/hour. The five water systems were installed in Al-Waral, Al Redais, Al Kashafab and Joury areas of Al Salam locality and Al Alagaya area of Al Jabalain locality in White Nile state. The main purpose of the �ve water supply systems was to provide safe water supply to South Sudanese refugees and host communities, promote social cohesion between the two communities and reduce tensions caused by limited water resources.

The five water supply system currently provide equitable and sustainable access to safe water supply for 101,525 South Sudanese refugees in six camps and 31,000 host community members surrounding the refugees camps. The average daily water share for White Nile South Sudanese refugees is estimated at

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“I had su�ered a lot getting clean and improved drinking water during my journey from village near Malakal in South Sudan, but once I reached Elridas SSR camp I’ve enjoyed drinking water from the newly constructed compact units.”

RebeakaA woman from Shulook tribe


15-20 litres per person per day (lpd), which is considered a good improvement compared with the previous �gure of 9.9 lpd at the beginning of 2015.

Among the population both in the South Sudanese refugee camps and the host communities, there is overwhelming agreement that the quality of the water is good and significantly better than before the water systems were constructed.

“I had su�ered a lot getting clean and improved drinking water during my journey from village near Malakal in South Sudan, but once I reached Elridas South Sudanese refugee camp I’ve enjoyed drinking water from the newly constructed compact units” says Rebeaka, a woman from Shulook tribe. “At �rst I was very hesitant about the interactions with the host community, but we are all sharing the same water source in peace and harmony and I’ve created many friends!”

A survey was conducted to analyse the results of the intervention and the responses were: up to 70.6 percent (number = 372) of all respondents are very satisfied with the quality of the water from their main water source, while 22.9 percent (number = 121) are somewhat satis�ed, and only 6.4 percent (number = 34) are not at all satis�ed. Notably, respondents who primarily access unclean water sources are much less satis�ed than those who have access to clean water sources such as tap stands and blad-ders. The water supply system improved time spent on water collection, distance travel and e�ciency of the system water treatment.

“We have adequate access to improved drinking water from newly constructed compact units, which is as good as bottled water!” Says Daka from the Shulook tribe, as they shared the same water sources with the hosting community.

15-20 litres per person per day (lpd), which is considered a good improvement compared with the previous �gure of 9.9 lpd at the beginning of 2015.

Among the population both in the South Sudanese refugee camps and the host communities, there is overwhelming agreement that the quality of the water is good and significantly better than before the water systems were constructed.

“I had su�ered a lot getting clean and improved drinking water during my journey from village near Malakal in South Sudan, but once I reached Elridas South Sudanese refugee camp I’ve enjoyed drinking water from the newly constructed compact units” says Rebeaka, a woman from Shulook tribe. “At �rst I was very hesitant about the interactions with the host community, but we are all sharing the same water source in peace and harmony and I’ve created many friends!”

A survey was conducted to analyse the results of the intervention and the responses were: up to 70.6 percent (number = 372) of all respondents are very satisfied with the quality of the water from their main water source, while 22.9 percent (number = 121) are somewhat satis�ed, and only 6.4 percent (number = 34) are not at all satis�ed. Notably, respondents who primarily access unclean water sources are much less satis�ed than those who have access to clean water sources such as tap stands and blad-ders. The water supply system improved time spent on water collection, distance travel and e�ciency of the system water treatment.

“We have adequate access to improved drinking water from newly constructed compact units, which is as good as bottled water!” Says Daka from the Shulook tribe, as they shared the same water sources with the hosting community.

Participating agencies: UN-Habitat, UN Women, UNDP, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF

The UN provided support for local development planning and public expenditure management at the state level, including through support to the development of 40 locality development plans and �ve state strategic plans (Eastern Sudan and South Kordofan), along with the training of over 800 government sta� on issues related to planning and budgeting; revenue collection; government �nance statistics-based budget and reporting; and monetary and �nancial policies and regulations. This helped improve basic service delivery in 2016. In Darfur, the UN further assisted in the operationalization in three states of the automated payroll system; this impacted positively on rationalization of public expenditure, reducing fraud, and greater e�ectiveness of pay merits. With UN assistance, events were organized to address awareness, prevention and enforcement of anti-corruption measures across sectors and stakeholders, especially with the media, academic institutions and civil society organizations.

2.d) UNDAF Focus Area 4: Governance, Rule of Law and Institu-tional Capacity Development

UNDAF Outcome 5: Governance institutions at all levels are strengthened to e�ectively plan, deliver and monitor their mandates, particularly public services, in an equitable and accountable manner

UNDAF 29

Furthermore, the UN worked with and assisted decision makers and relevant partners in the following areas:

With UN assistance, a new civil registration programme was developed, with technical support to develop procedures for determination of nationality, registration and documentation in line with international standards. Also, support was provided by the UN to community-based participatory assessments and decision-making on delivery of services for internally displaced persons, refugee, returnee and hosting communities, using an age, gender and diversity approach. In particular, technical capacity support was provided by the UN to the General Directorate of Civil Registry to increase the level

• Sensitization seminars were organized on the SDGs, targeting media and senior government o�cials, and this resulted in the integration of population issues in the context of the SDGs. This was coupled with sensitization sessions for 150 young persons from the Youth Parliament on SDGs and youth-related issues.

• A substantive high-level dialogue was initiated on centralizing gender equality and women’s empowerment in national e�orts to localize the SDGs. This dialogue secured very concrete commitments from the Government on actions that will accelerate gender equality and women’s empowerment in the process to domesticate the SDGs in Sudan, including: strengthening the national women machinery in Sudan by creating and autonomous National Women’s Council; working with the Central Bank to lower interest rates for poor women; engaging with the Minister of Agriculture to enhance women’s land rights; and collecting, analyzing and disseminating sex-disaggregated data.

• A study on ‘Harnessing Demographic Dividend: Socioeconomic Transformation in Sudan’ was conducted, with a view to providing evidence-based strategies for the achievement of prosperity, peace and security.

• Parliamentarians, religious leaders, media and government officials advocated on issues related to family planning in Sudan.

• The ‘Population Studies Journal’ was promoted as a tool for dissemination of scientific researches in the �eld of population. The National Council for Population was supported to celebrate the World Population Day 2016.

• Consultations were carried out for the revision the National Youth Strategy.

• The capacity of selected state population offices was strengthened to play the leading and advisory role in the coordination, collection and analysis of state population data for planning and decision-making at state levels.

• The Union of Youth Organizations was established to map youth institutions and identify youth needs and priorities, youth issues were advocated for during celebrations of the International Youth Day 2016, and the Youth Visionary Leadership Programme was finalized.

• With institutional support for 10 youth centres in selected localities in Kassala and Gedaref states, youth engagement in community-based interventions was maximized.

• The Central Bureau of Statistics resumed its role as the main data custodian and advocate for the use of data in national planning and policy development through: a) �nalization of a Census Project for the 6th National Population and Housing Census 2018; b) finalization and printing of six sector and �ve state Strategies for the Development of Statists and four ‘Quarterly National Strategy for the Development of Statistics’ newsletters and ‘Sudan in Figures’; c) establishment of fora for data producers and data users at national and state levels as coordination mechanism; d) rehabilitation of Area Network Connection in the �ve Darfur states to enhance capacities in data management in humanitarian settings and the upcoming census; d) two Central Bureau of Statistics sta� members were supported to pursue master’s degrees in demography at Cairo Demographic Centre, and a study tour was undertaken to Jordan to benefit from Jordan’s experience in using technology in census, and this resulted in understanding the importance and possibility of using technology in the context of Sudan.


of birth registration through comprehensive capacity building interventions, targeting civil registry officials, health staff (midwives), and local administration authorities in Khartoum, Kassala, Gedaref, South Darfur and White Nile states. In 2016, a total of 3,000 birth certi�cates were issued to persons of concern in Khartoum, White Nile and the East. Furthermore, advocacy and information campaigns were conducted with UN support, targeting population of concern, in all states with a South Sudanese population, to increase the knowledge on the importance of registration and documentation. The UN also provided support for participatory assessments for internally displaced and refugee camps that were conducted in urban and rural areas of West, Central and South Darfur states, with the participation of the Commission of Refugees and the Humanitarian Aid Commission, with a gender/age/diversity-sensitive approach. In East Sudan, community leadership committee elections were conducted with UN support in �ve refugee camps to establish community-based protection structures. Elections were only concluded in four of the camps. Women comprise an average of 29 percent of the representation in the four camps. The UN and the Commission of Refugees provided orientation to the elected members on the role of the leadership committees, and what is and what is not expected of them, including exploitation of persons of concern. Water, sanitation and hygiene sub-committees were constituted, with UN assistance, in two camps to support initiatives to improve the sanitation and hygiene conditions in the camps.

In the area of migration governance, the UN worked in close coordination with government institutions to ensure the establishment of the National Coordination Mechanism for migration in Sudan. This was facilitated through several consultations with relevant line ministries and technical and �nancial assistance for government o�cials to participate in regional and international fora.

With UN support, the Land and Survey Departments in Blue Nile state were strengthened through the provision of equipment, training and set-up of a land database which allows, in several cases, to verify the information of applicants and discovered cases of land registration irregularities. As a result the Ministry of Physical Planning was enabled to allocate and demarcate land plots for 3,050 internally displaced person families in Al Damazine, Blue Nile state.

The UN provided technical guidance and advice to the National Committee for Combating Human Tra�cking on developing strategic and operational planning to combat tra�cking in persons as well as on implementing the provisions of the Anti-tra�cking Act and coordinating initiative to counter tra�cking. It also helped design and deliver training programmes targeting multiple key institutions such as those in the criminal justice system, law enforcement and civil society organizations on international migration law and the national legal framework referring to counter-tra�cking focusing on investigation, prosecution, protection and rehabilitation of victims of tra�cking. A total of 110 representatives from institutions (law enforcement and criminal justice system) and 35 members of civil society organizations were trained to increase their knowledge and skills regarding international migration law, issues of counter-tra�cking and smuggling, assistance to victims of tra�cking and border management in 2016.

The UN-supported Temporary Return of Quali�ed Nationals Project promoted the return of Sudanese experts from other countries to build the capacity of government and non-government institutions by providing the necessary skills and opportunities to minimize the brain drain in Sudan through knowledge transfer. Thirteen assignments were completed by Sudanese experts through the project, supporting areas such as water management, education, corporate governance, project management, training of visually impaired individuals, and media development.

The UN ensured close coordination with government institutions to establish the National Coordination Mechanism for Migration in Sudan. Several consultations with relevant line ministries were conducted and facilitated, while technical and �nancial assistance for government o�cials to participate in regional and international fora was provided.

UNDAF 28

Planning a state’s public spending on local infrastructure and basic services, and keeping reliable and transparent records of that expenditure, is crucial. All these processes boost citizen con�dence when it comes to the integrity of public institutions and good use of public funds.

The �ve states of Darfur have taken some steps to improve their planning and public expenditure management processes and address the several challenges facing them. These challenges included inaccuracies in the record-keeping of revenue data and low revenue collection capacity in addition to high wage costs (for example, 80 percent of total spending in North Darfur). Moreover, manual systems and spreadsheets for payroll processing are highly vulnerable to �nancial losses, whilst institutional and human resource capacities continued to pose major constraints to state planning.

The Darfurian authorities asked the UN to provide its support, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, to address these challenges by strengthening revenue collection and reporting capacities through such tools as training and awareness-raising campaigns, as well as institutional capacity building. The UN is also helping to address Darfur’s payroll management and control through the development and implementation of an electronic payroll system, which entailed the installation and development of a software in three out of �ve states, along with training. Moreover, the UN provided technical support for the review of the �ve-year strategic plan in North, South and West Darfur states.

The UN’s e�orts with national authorities have yielded tangible results. For example, the Ministry of Finance in North Darfur cost-shared the budget for procurement of 15 vehicles, which were subse-quently purchased and allocated to several line ministries, and identified localities to improve reve-nue collection in the state. Because of improved logistical capability, and creation of additional reve-nue collection teams and points, revenue collection in the state increased from SDG36 million in 2010 to SDG149 million in 2013, as reported in the Auditor General’s report for 2013.

“I am very pleased with the support that the Ministry of Finance in the North Darfur state has received from the United Nations in revenue collection and improvement. This is an example of very good partnership where an international organization has supported a state partner in meeting its targets and obligations to the people in Darfur. I am hoping that this practice will be replicated in other states of of Darfur” stated HE Daoud Soleiman, Minister of Finance, Economy and Civil Service in North Darfur state, who commented on the results of the project.

Darfur Reshapes its Public Spending Processes

Participants from the Ministry of Finance and line ministries on completion of a training on payroll automation processes in El Fasher, North DarfurPhoto by UNDP

Stories from the

Field


In the �nal stages of the initiative, the UN worked with Darfur’s authorities to complete the electronic payroll system, particularly in North, South and West Darfur. These are crucial steps that have already promoted signi�cant change. The computerization of the payroll and sheets by the payroll sections has tremendously reduced the time involved in manual processing of the monthly salaries of state government employees, and reduced fraud and errors which previously dominated the transactions.

“ ““I am very pleased with the support that the Ministry of Finance in the North Darfur State has received from the United Nations in revenue collection and improvement. This is an example of very good partnership where an international organization has supported a state partner in meeting its targets and obli-gations to the people in Darfur. I am hoping that this practice will be replicated in other states of Darfur”

HE Daoud SoleimanMinister of Finance, Economy and Civil Service in the North Darfur state

UNDAF 33

Participating agencies: IOM, UN Women UNDP, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF

The UN supported institutions and actors to improve the delivery of justice and security, and promote and protect human rights. Human rights awareness-raising events were organized, targeting 685 persons; legal aid services were provided for 209 cases; the Sudan National Human Rights Commission was supported to handle human rights cases; capacity development events were organized for prison sta�, including vocational training for inmates; and support was provided for the newly established Truth and Reconciliation Commission to engage in reconciliation, con�ict resolution and peace building in Darfur.

In the area of women’s rights, the UN provided support to institutions and actors to develop and reform policies and laws, helped develop capacities, and supported knowledge management activities targeting institutions, communities and civil society organizations. In particular:

UNDAF Outcome 6: People in Sudan are protected under an enabling environment that guarantees rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms

4 This is a multi-discourse campaign, called “Affection and Mercy”, implemented by the Ministry of Endowment and Guidance in partnership with the Ministry of Welfare and Social Security, Ahfad University and others to �ght against female genital mutilation.

• Support was provided to the reform and update of policies and laws, including the National Women Empowerment Policy, the National Strategy for Family Development, and the National Gender-Based Violence Policy;

• Institutional support was provided to the new unit within the Women’s Council for Human Rights, the “National Law Reform Committee”, along with support to the introduction of an article in the Penal Code criminalizing female genital mutilation;

• A workshop was organized for 45 Sudan National Police officers and prosecutors, including 15 from the �ve Darfur states, to strengthen their capacity for gender mainstreaming in the context of addressing gender-based violence issues, including by learning from the experiences and methodologies in other countries, notably Uganda and Rwanda. As an outcome of this training, knowledge was strengthened in terms of reporting, investigations, follow-up prosecuting criminals, as well as provision of necessary support for victims;

• A memorandum of understanding was signed with the federal Ministry of Health to advocate for reducing maternal mortality from socio-cultural and economic perspectives;

• Support was provided for the development, printing and dissemination of a behaviour change communication strategy and training manual on female genital mutilation law and articles 138-142 of the criminal law of 1991;

• Support was provided for the coordination of the 16 Days of Activism campaign at national and state levels, coupled with intensive community-based events related to all forms of gender-based violence.

Capacity development interventions were conducted with UN support that resulted in: the development of a training package on result-based leadership, communication and management; training of 483 government o�cials, non-governmental organizations, faith-based organizations and community leaders on gender-based violence, including on using Almawada wa Alrahma4 ; training of 310 youth and men on female genital mutilation and public declaration on abandonment of female genital mutilation; provision of institutional support to the General Directorate of Women and Family A�airs in seven states to facilitate their work on female genital mutilation; establishment of �ve state task forces in Gezira, Sinnar, Northern, Blue Nile and South Darfur states and 18 localities in Red Sea, Gedaref, Kassala and North Kordofan; training of 378 religious leaders on Almawada wa Alrahma to implement the approach in the respective communities in White Nile and Kassala states; training of 400 service providers on gender-based violence-related issues, including referral pathway, psychosocial support, gender-based violence concepts and consequences.


Support to service delivery was provided by the UN, including to families and communities that declared abandonment of female genital mutilation, and for the development of public declaration guidelines to enhance local partners’ capacities in conducting public declaration activities. The UN also assisted the functionality of 19 gender-based violence referral pathways/protection networks at community level in Darfur and White Nile states, coupled with support to the functioning of 20 women centres as entry point for gender-based violence survivors to refer to di�erent services. With UN support, 15,866 community members bene�ted from advocacy and awareness-raising events on gender-based violence issues. The UN helped in the establishment of 15 community-based organizations in Gedaref, Khartoum, North Kordofan and Kassala states to work on female genital mutilation, and the establishment of a group of 35 media personnel working closely with the General Directorate of Women and Family A�airs on women empowerment issues, with special focus on female genital mutilation. The development of behaviour change communication and guidelines on community dialogue received support from the UN, as well as awareness-raising events on sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence service and information that targeted 540 individual in 20 refugee and migrant communities in Kassala and Khartoum states, coupled with procurement and distribution of reproductive health and gender-based violence kits to hospitals in Khartoum and Kassala states serving refugees and migrants. Assistance was also provided by the UN to the National Committee for Combating Human Trafficking on the hazards and consequences of human trafficking, and psycho-social support was provided that bene�ted 40 psychologists and social workers working with refugees and irregular migrants as potential victims of human trafficking in Khartoum and Kassala states. Other areas of activity for the UN were training on income-generating activities that benefited 20 Eritrean trafficked persons in Khartoum, and support for the procurement and distribution of personal hygiene kits that bene�tted 70,720 most vulnerable women and girls at reproductive age (30 percent for adolescent girls) in White Nile, South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Darfur states.

Knowledge management was advanced with UN support at the celebration of International Women’s Day through the presentation of scienti�c papers on ‘Financing the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030’ and the ‘Impact of the Unilateral Sanctions on Women and Girls’. Support was provided by the UN to carry out a knowledge-attitude-practices study on female genital cutting among midwives prior to their enrolment in midwifery schools’ new curriculum in Khartoum and Kassala states, targeting 308 midwives. In addition, the UN supported the updating of the GRACe database with �ndings of 230 researches on female genital cutting in Sudan, as well as an assessment and a conceptual paper on Almawada wa Alrahma that was presented and endorsed by national partners and national youth conference (initiative) in North Kordofan.

Institutions and actors were also supported by the UN to ensure the delivery of equitable, high-quality child protection services for vulnerable children. UN-supported child protection services bene�ted 303,702 children at risk and victims of violence, abuse and exploitation. With UN assistance, 140 judges and 40 prosecutors were trained on handling child cases, with a focus on diversion and alternative measures to detention, and 400 Family and Child Protection Unit sta� in 14 states were trained on the Child Act and investigating cases of gender-based violence against children. The UN and the Sudan Judiciary installed audio video as a means to examine and cross examine children in different courts. Furthermore, in collaboration with the Ministry of Child Welfare, the Sudan Judiciary, the Prosecution, civil society organizations, and Family and Child Protection Units, the UN helped 32,407 child victims of violence, sexual and gender-based violence, and children in con�ict with the law bene�t from child-friendly protection services and referral provided by Family and Child Protection Units in 18 States across Sudan; this resulted in diverting 10,410 child o�enders outside the judicial system. A total of 155 events were organized with UN assistance in 18 States across Sudan to advocate for eradicating of female genital mutilation/cutting that bene�ted 63,340 participants. With UN support, an Action Plan on Protection of Children in Armed Con�ict was developed and signed by the Government of Sudan to prevent child recruitment by armed forces in Sudan. The UN helped establish the national child protection information management system at the National Council of Child Welfare and trained focal points in 18 states with the view to generate evidence and ensure quality data and information on various child protection issues, and this resulted in re�ning and compiling 92 indicators on female genital mutilation/cutting, child marriage and sexual violence to be integrated into the National Inter-Sectoral Monitoring and Evaluation System.

UNDAF 35

The UN worked with institutions and other relevant actors to help develop capacities and raise awareness for the protection of internally displaced persons, refugees, returnees, migrants and other a�ected populations. In particular, the capacity of the Commission of Refuges was strengthened to provide protection and assistance to refugees and asylum seekers, as well as on interviewing techniques, credibility assessment, case assessment, country of origin information research, and working with interpreters, coupled with country-based training activities and overseas trainings for 12 government officials. This resulted in improvements in the quality of refugee status determination assessments by the end of 2016. In addition, the UN provided support to improve access to refugees status determination procedures that reduced risk of refoulement for refugees and asylum seekers. Similarly, legal aid providers were supported by the UN to provide legal assistance to persons a�ected by new nationality arrangements to allow them to obtain identity and legal status documents, including support to a network of lawyers to expand its presence in most states of Sudan. A network of paralegals selected from the targeted communities was also established and supported by the UN. Legal aid activities were expanded to Red Sea and South and East Darfur states with high presence of South Sudanese population. Support was provided by the UN for the development of legislation in line with international standards on refugee protection and the prevention of statelessness, including: a comprehensive legal study on statelessness in post-secession Sudan was �nalized in 2016; a study on aspects of gender discrimination in the Sudanese nationality legal framework was carried out; advocacy and sensitization interventions were carried out targeting lawmakers, policy advisors, legal professionals and the Sudanese Bar Association; training and sensitization of government officials from different relevant ministerial departments were further carried out. In line with UN advocacy, a landmark Constitutional Court ruling con�rmed the inherited right of Sudanese women married to South Sudanese men in conferring the Sudanese nationality to their children.

The UN worked to provide technical capacity to the General Directorate of Civil Registry to strengthen the procedures for determination of nationality, registration and documentation in line with international standards, so as to increase the level of birth registration through comprehensive capacity building interventions, targeting civil registry o�cials, health sta� (midwives), and local administration authorities in Khartoum, Kassala, Gedaref, South Darfur and White Nile states. Further UN support was made available to ensure access among eligible populations to nationality documentation to reduce the risk of statelessness through organization of advocacy and information campaigns for population of concern in all states with a South Sudanese population to increase the knowledge on the importance of registration and documentation. The UN provided support and advisory services were provided on accession to international conventions on the prevention and reduction of statelessness. A total of 2,298 migrants and Sudanese attended UN-supported awareness-raising activities on the risks of irregular migration, including sessions with representatives of migrant communities and a theatre play produced in coordination with the Government of Sudan and the National Committee for Combating Human Trafficking. The play, entitled ‘Boats of Death’, was directed by the Sudanese Mobile Theatre Workshop Group and performed in nine different locations in Khartoum, as well as in El Geneina, West Darfur. Two media forums supported by the UN collectively gathered over 30 journalists working in print, TV, radio and social media with in�uence on public opinion. Topics in the forums included media technical skills trainings on social media use and ethical reporting, as well as orientation on migration terminologies.

In commemoration of International Migrants Day, the UN helped conduct a �ve-day ‘Stories of Migration Art Workshop’ with participation of over 30 migrants from eight different countries (Kenya, Nigeria, Eritrea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan). The artwork produced during the workshop was showcased in an exhibition planned and organized with the close follow-up of all the participants. During the exhibition, a short documentary �lm produced about the participants was screened and selected art work was available for sale to help in generating much needed income for many of them.

A total of 1,545 migrants bene�ted from the direct assistance provided through the UN-supported Migrant Resource and Response Centres and their mobile response team, including medical assistance, counselling and emergency support.

The UN-supported Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) programme aims to facilitate the orderly and digni�ed return and reintegration of migrants who are unable to remain in Sudan and are willing to return voluntarily to their countries of origin; and of Sudanese living in other countries who


wish to be supported in safely returning to their country of origin. AVRR provides a durable solution for stranded migrants, migrants in an irregular situation, victims of tra�cking, and unsuccessful asylum seekers.

In 2016, a total of 336 Sudanese were assisted from 18 countries to voluntarily return to Sudan. The majority returned from Egypt (55 percent of the total), with Indonesia, Sweden, Switzerland and Norway each sending between 17 and 37 Sudanese returnees. Other countries of departure included Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Libya, Malta, Netherlands, Tunisia and Turkey. Upon arrival, the UN’s migrant reception team worked to counsel and assist returnees to manage their reintegration package that is conceived to help individuals and families restart their lives in Sudan. Of a total 181 migrants, 89 returned from Sudan to their countries of origin, particularly to Ethiopia and the rest to 14 other countries (Cameroon, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Guinea Conakry, Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar, Nepal, Nigeria, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Uganda). Migrants were provided with pre-departure, transportation and post-arrival assistance, including counselling and the provision of basic reintegration support, which was designed to primarily initiate income-generating activities to help enhance the sustainability of returns.

Targeting individuals or groups of individuals based on their gender through any acts that result in, or are likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm is what is known as gender-based violence. According to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), gender-based violence incidents include violent acts such as rape, torture, mutilation, sexual slavery, forced impregnation and murder, and threats of these acts are de�ned as a form of violence. One of the major problems facing victims of such violence is experienced after the actual incidents. Besides the psychological trauma, the victims are usually unable to access justice given their lack of �nancial resources, but are also incapable of �nding digni�ed work that would enable them to sustain their children given the social stigma associated with their tragic past. Many women who su�er such violence are single mothers who become so stigmatized that they cannot feed or maintain their children.

Empowering Survivors of Gender-Based Violence

Working on economically productive activities in groups supports the resilience and empowerment of marginalized women by generating income, social capital and self-esteemPhoto by UNDP

Stories from the

Field

UNDAF 33

Through its work in rule of law, the UN in Sudan has been working with several non-governmental orga-nizations in the country to empower victims/survivors of gender-based violence to overcome their traumas and to carry on with their lives. Most importantly, also, the UN, in collaboration with national partners, has been working to empower local non-governmental organizations to reach out to victims and enable them to seek legal action against the perpetrators.

So far, the UN supported four local non-governmental organizations mainly in Khartoum to become one-stop shops to provide survivors with legal aid services to present their cases to courts. After settling their claims, the survivors are provided with psychosocial support and counselling to be able to over-come their social stigma and in order for them to be reintegrated into society, providing them with vocational training in sewing, baking, handicraft and other income-generation activities.

“We have seen a real change in the women and girls after they started working on the toys” says Nour Hussein, Founder and Director of the Shamaa Organization. “Working on the toys has changed their state of mind. Before they were dormant, now they are more active and goal-oriented.”

In 2016, 86 cases were supported and those survivors are now provided with productive skills to stand on their own feet. Most importantly and beyond providing them with skills to be productive, one of the non-governmental organizations that provides legal aid services represented those 86 cases before di�erent stages in court, which would have been impossible with the previous means of those survi-vors.

The Shamaa Organization hosts a shelter for single mothers in Khartoum, the only one of its kind in Sudan, providing support to those women who are in a legally and socially precarious situation.

“From our experience we can see that economic empowerment is not just about money, but about building social capital, hope and a sense of ownership and planning. This is especially true of the vulnerable women that we work with.” says Nahid Jabralla, founder and director of SEEMA, a non-governmental organiza-tion working with victims and survivors of gender-based violence in Khartoum. “Making a product that is competitive in the market and that someone will actually buy is a huge boost for their self-con�dence.”

“““We have seen a real change in the women and girls after they started working on the toys. Working on the toys has changed their state of mind. Before they were dormant, now they are more active and goal-oriented.”

Nour HusseinFounder and Director of the Shamaa Organization


Participating agencies: IOM, UN-Habitat, UNDP, UNHCR

The UN helped restore trust and con�dence through establishing and strengthening 246 (31 new) community-based reconciliation mechanisms that resolve con�icts and manage projects in Darfur, South Kordofan, Blue Nile, West Kordofan and White Nile. A total of 1,280 cases were resolved with an 85 percent success rate and 80 percent of community members stating a decrease in conflict. High levels of citizen participation in the National Dialogue were ensured through 50 locality-level consultations under the UN-supported Darfur Internal Dialogue Consultations, whose outcomes were incorporated in the National Dialogue recommendations. Preliminary results of an empirical study and a �lm trailer on violent extremism, which were produced with UN support, informed programming on prevention of violent extremism. Capacities of government, civil society and communities to lead peace building, inter-communal reconciliation and coexistence in Darfur, Blue Nile, South Kordofan, and West Kordofan were built with UN assistance through establishing nationally-owned peace networks and strengthening the capacities of 60 national non-governmental organizations and 449 peace ambassadors.

The UN supported state- and community-level peace building mechanisms to give communities and state governments a tool to prevent the escalation of low-level con�icts, to prevent triggering occurrences of con�ict and to contribute to decreasing underlying tensions. The interventions targeted a number groups, including institutional and individual bene�ciaries. To ensure that interventions were needs-based, needs surveys and assessments of existing capacities for con�ict resolution and management were carried out with UN support. The UN also helped deliver tailored capacity building packages to institutions and key peace actors promoters, and through this combined targeting strategy, results were maximized at community and state level.

In South Darfur state, the UN helped to heighten the Takro Dam to serve both farmers and nomads, protecting settlers and pastoralists from con�ict or tension. A water committee was established with UN support and an early warning system developed to manage the dam in a peaceful manner. In the same state, a 115-km stretch of the Um Leyona migratory route was demarcated, with UN support, in close consultation with and involvement of concerned stakeholders, for peaceful coexistence and property rights for pastoralists to pass through the route with their animals in the season of movement without causing damage to settlers’ farms. Farmers have also respected the route boundary and cultivate far from the route.

The UN provided support to peace building activities in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states for internally displaced persons and returnee populations to contribute toward community cohesion and peace consolidation with host and receiving communities, thereby mitigating the risk of con�ict over resources. The UN also supported peaceful coexistence between refugees and host communities in eastern Sudan, and advocated for enhanced resources to support community cohesion of internally displaced persons’ communities, returnee and host/receiving communities. In this regard, the UN supported the deployment of 16 social workers of the Ministry of Social Welfare in internally displaced person communities in South Kordofan and Blue Nile to identify protection concerns and develop response plans with the communities. With UN assistance, small-scale projects were implemented in 12 communities, including the building of two classrooms in Blue Nile and one in South Kordofan, and the provision of grain mills to four communities in South Kordofan, to support peaceful relations between displaced and host communities.

Furthermore, the UN helped developed a guide on community-based protection for humanitarian partners. It aims to ensure that communities are capacitated to respond to the protection needs of their vulnerable members and other protection concerns. Two training workshops on the guide were organized in Blue Nile and South Kordofan for a total 48 social workers from the Ministry of Social Welfare, non-governmental organizations and other institutions.

2.e) UNDAF Focus Area 5: Community Stabilization

UNDAF Outcome 7: Government and civil society initiatives that promote social cohe-sion, peace consolidation and pluralism are strengthened

UNDAF 39

In order to promote peaceful coexistence between refugees and host communities in eastern Sudan, the UN implemented livelihoods, water, sanitation and hygiene, and health projects that bene�ted local communities that live near refugee camps. The projects focused on both the refugee and surrounding host ommunities including in health services, vocational and skills development training and capacity building. As part of these projects, for example, refugees received 7,417 assistance packages in environment and cenergy, functional literacy, basic skills and vocational training, informal micro�nance services, micro�nance loans, and rural livelihoods, while 120 bene�ciaries from the host communities engaged in formal micro�nance livelihood activities.

In Darfur, the UN conducted peaceful coexistence projects, including workshops, installation of communal infrastructure (e.g. community centres), and basic service provision (i.e. water systems), which were implemented in 15 return villages to reduce inter-communal con�ict and support sustainable return of the displaced populations. The UN also supported groups of vulnerable returnees and local households in West and Central Darfur with agricultural tools, livestock and training to support income generation and self-reliance, in turn reducing protection risks. More than 90,000 individuals are bene�tting, including 70,000 returnees in Central Darfur, 20,000 in North Darfur and 2,000 in West Darfur. Six police posts were constructed in return areas, bene�tting 30,000 internally displaced persons, returnees and nomads, to enhance protection presence of the local authorities and contribute to improved security situations in the villages. Training sessions were also conducted for 200 government police o�cers and nomad leaders on durable solutions for internally displaced persons in order to sensitize participants on returnees’ rights and obligations and fundamental principles, as well as the roles of the Government and humanitarian/development actors with regards to durable solutions for internally displaced persons.

The UN helped enhance community stabilization by supporting local and state authorities who play a prominent role in the decision-making process through a six-day peace building workshop that gathered over 77 participants from di�erent segments of the South Darfur communities (community police, state police, rural courts judges and representatives, in�uential tribal leaders and civil society). The event addressed cross-border dynamics and proactive con�ict resolution issues amongst pastoralist and sedentary communities in South Darfur. The workshop improved communities’ knowledge to address local tribal issues and increased awareness to support peace and dialogues.

With UN support, local committees comprised of community representatives, local leaders, and other partners (such as local non-governmental organizations) in the area were established in South and East Darfur for the running and maintenance of community stabilization project activities to ensure sustainability and ownership. The committees have fostered ongoing dialogue and partnership between the donor agency, the UN, local government representatives, and local community organizations, establishing new platforms for dialogue and decision making.

The Government’s State Water and Environmental Sanitation (WES) was contracted with UN assistance for water interventions in South Darfur and three private companies were contracted to implement water infrastructure and rehabilitation works in East Darfur, with one of the companies originating from the East Darfur state itself. Infrastructure interventions also employed local labour ensuring the engagement of local communities in the implementation process, in addition to e�orts by state authorities that complemented the hardware interventions such as the case of the rehabilitation of a main cattle market in East Darfur, where the state Ministry of Finance contributed to building fences.


Located in the Beleil locality in South Darfur state, Takro village sits between two of South Darfur’s major migration routes. Pastoralists bring their animals to drink water at a nearby dam – an act that has contributed to friction with and amongst local farming populations especially when the water becomes scarce or when crops are trampled by animals.

“The low dam has caused a depletion in water availability by March and thus forcing the local community to walk about six hours to fetch water from a neighbouring water source for their use” says Mohamed Yahyia who is a school headmaster and a local resident of Takro.

The UN and its partner Ajaweed supported the renovation of the village dam, as well as the formation of a community committee to manage the newly refurbished facility. The dam was heightened to increase access to water and was supplied with two submersible solar-powered pumps at the Takro village and Gushtir village, which is located 2 kilometres from Takro village.

With a capacity of 50,000 cubic metres, the improved water source provides irrigation for local farmers, as well as water for human and animal consumption. The improved water resource immediately lessened the friction along the key migration area.

“The water availability played a role in reducing the community tensions amongst the water users especially those that are cattle and camel herders who come to Takro village for water” says Mohamed. Mohamed also proclaimed that the availability of water due to the recent heightening also enabled the cultivation of vegetables such as okra, cucumber and watermelon by local farmers.

While the improved water resource was the immediate result of the intervention, the initiative also supported the formulation of a community water management committee, and through this, an early warning system, to help ensure ongoing cooperation over this scarce resource. The UN and its partners worked to develop an early warning system with a clear way for community members, including farm-ers and pastoralists, to report issues related to the water point or surrounding farms to committee members as they arose.

Before the project, the community did not have systems for resolving disagreement especially over water. Now, people know the names and numbers of the committee members so they are called direct-ly when an incident happens. The community members can therefore mediate an issue through the “judiya” process, where both sides �nd a mutually agreeable solution.

A Dam that Built a Bridge

Heightening of Takro Dam. Photo by UN-Habitat

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The committee includes local leaders from Takro town, including one woman leader, a member of the native administration, farmer and pastoralist representatives, and a local government representative. If a given issue cannot be resolved at the community level, it can be referred to local or state authorities.

The committee found that the most common issues are crop destruction by animals. During the �rst half of the year the committee dealt with 26 cases and the committee resolved 25 at its level. This was a particularly high number of cases compared to the same time last year, due in part to the lower rainfall caused by El Niño.

Disagreements arise not only between farmers and pastoralists. For example, in June, two farmers had a disagreement over farmland outside Takro village, and threats of physical harm were made. Someone reported the tension to the committee, and they held two rounds of judiya negotiations, solving the dispute through the transfer of SDG3,000.

Mohamed, who is also a member of the committee, proclaims that after this intervention, the social cohesion amongst the Takro village became stronger as people were able to solve their own issues using a community framework.

““

“The low dam has caused a depletion in water availability by March and thus forcing the local community to walk about six hours to fetch water from a neighboring water source for their use”

Mohamed Yahyia School headmaster


Participating agencies: IOM, UNDP, UNHCR, UNV

During the reporting period, agencies helped deliver peace dividends toward improving social cohesion and mitigating drivers for con�icts between di�erent ethnic groups and pastoralists and host communities in South and East Darfur. Water, sanitation, hygiene and livelihood interventions in support of return, reintegration and recovery were an integral part of the UN’s projects that aimed to promote social cohesion and community stabilization. Fifty men and women in El Radoam locality, South Darfur state were trained with UN assistance in beekeeping and honey production, hence promoting sustainable management of indigenous honeybees and contributing to the overall conservation of biodiversity, as well as enhancing food security and income generation for local beekeepers. To address the needs of the pastoral community in Buram locality, South Darfur the UN provided assistance to vaccination campaigns, reaching 19,355 heads of livestock in four villages. In the Abyei PCA (Permanent Court of Arbitration) Box, Red Sea state, South Kordofan and West Kordofan, over 3,000 households benefited from 122 UN-supported activities under community stabilization, such as the construction of farms with irrigation systems, installation of grinding mills and oil press facilities, and construction of latrines, fences and police posts in markets. To contribute to long-term conflict resolution and peace building in Sudan’s southern states of South Kordofan, West Kordofan and Blue Nile, the UN assisted in the construction of five water points, one water network, 31 hand pumps, one slaughterhouse and public latrines in markets and in schools in 14 di�erent locations that aimed to mitigate and prevent community-level con�icts by addressing some of the main root causes of tension. To increase and maintain access to improved water, sanitation and hygiene outreach services, the UN supported 146,658 con�ict-a�ected persons and new internally displaced persons (58,930 men, 66,200 women and 21,528 children) in the eastern states of Kassala, Gedaref and Red Sea.

UN agencies led or participated in more than 30 �eld missions to return villages across Darfur for the purpose of return monitoring, needs assessments, and veri�cation of voluntariness. Those missions signi�cantly contributed to humanitarian actors’ understanding of return conditions and needs in order to develop strategies for durable solutions for internally displaced persons. The UN commissioned a Joint Inter-Agency Pro�ling Service scoping mission to help the humanitarian and development community, including the Government, identify information needs for the planning and monitoring of durable solutions for internally displaced persons and returning internally displaced persons.

UN registration was conducted in North Darfur, with 7,000 refugee returnees registered with genuine refugee documentation and 37,000 estimated through pro�ling. UN agencies initiated the construction of 120 transitional shelters in West Darfur and a 100 transitional shelters in North Darfur for returning families. As of December 2016, 75 transitional shelters were completed with the rest expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2017. UN agencies implemented water system installation, rehabilitation and upgrading in eight communities in North Darfur that have received Sudanese refugee returnees from Chad. In addition, two primary schools were constructed with UN support in Kornoi and Haramba village (North Darfur) to bene�t refugee returnees and local communities.

UN agencies continued to play a signi�cant role in the reintegration of the ex-combats related to di�erent peace agreements in Darfur and the south, including providing reintegration support to approximately 75 percent of the demobilized �ghters. At least 1,600 ex-combatants are at di�erent stages of the reintegration process, that is, they are receiving reintegration brie�ngs, counselling and trainings in livelihoods accompanied with the provision of start-up packages/kits for income generation and self-employment activities in small business, agriculture, livestock, etc. Among those being reintegrated, about 300 have mobilized themselves into 12 cooperatives/associations/self-help groups. These cooperatives are now o�cially registered and bene�ting from microcredit and business advisory services as well as building linkages with value chains for access markets.

To support recovery in con�ict-a�ected states, the UN provided 120 community productive infrastructure, value chain support, social services, livelihoods opportunities and economic assets, bene�ting more than 10,000 households and 10,839 direct individual bene�ciaries, including women and unemployed youth. In

UNDAF Outcome 8: Peace dividends are delivered for sustainable return, reintegration and recovery

UNDAF 43

addition, some 50,000 indirect bene�ciaries, including internally displaced persons and refugees, were targeted by the UN. With UN support, communities were provided with agriculture equipment (plough and harrow discs, tractors, harvesting machines and solar-powered water pumps for integrated farms) and are operating on an average of 200 feddans of land for vegetable production and rain-fed agriculture per community. The UN targeted more than 19,000 households and engaged with the private sector for local economic recovery in its activities for value chain integration. With UN assistance, 150 youth volunteers supported the empowerment of about 11,876 vulnerable community members (of which 52 percent are women) by improving their knowledge and skills in business and environmental management as well as providing small grants to associations, groups and vulnerable individuals, which enabled them to start and/or expand small businesses, ultimately improving their livelihoods; as a result, 119 micro-businesses were initiated by bene�ciaries for income generation and job creation. The UN helped further develop the capacity of national institutions to lead and coordinate early recovery e�orts.

With its sustainable livelihoods approach, the UN supported communities’ capacities to properly manage their natural resources in sustainable ways through the formation of natural resource management committees. The UN also implemented its interventions with strict consciousness to environmental sustainability standards and environmental safety guards, for example using only solar-powered water pumps and constructing only solar-powered public facilities.

By targeting areas emerging from conflict and areas prone to conflict spillover, the UN’s stabilization approach allowed communities generate livelihoods around core economic infrastructures such as integrated farms and markets. Under return, recovery and reintegration, a new multi-sector approach to returns was piloted with UN support in Um Baru to ensure that more than 30,000 returnees in the area had access to economic opportunities and could improve their self-reliance. Also, livelihoods in return areas were promoted with UN assistance in six return villages. The UN in Darfur supported 2,436 households (14,616 bene�ciaries, of which 40 percent are women) in nine communities to improve their livelihoods. The UN supported 1,839 direct bene�ciaries, including unemployed youth and 50,000 indirect bene�ciaries, including internally displaced persons and refugees, through the provision of livelihoods opportunities and economic infrastructure.

In order to prioritize and ensure that needs are addressed, the UN conducted a number of analyses, including a con�ict analysis and the Darfur Youth Needs Survey, which captured the ideas, opinions and aspirations of 400 youth across Darfur and recommended potential pathways to empower and harness the potentials of the youth for peace and recovery in Darfur. The area-based con�ict analyses were updated and supplemented by additional vulnerability factors to prioritize targets.


Abyei Area, located along the Sudan-South Sudan border, is a disputed region between Sudan and South Sudan, delineated by complex multi-layered disputes. The southern part of Abyei is mainly inhab-ited by the sedentary Ngok Dinka tribe, with the vast majority still displaced around Agok, the southern-most town bordering South Sudan. The Misseriya tribe, many of whom are semi-nomadic pastoralists who migrate seasonally, inhabit the northern areas of Abyei, or north of Todach. Many Misseriya migrate from the north to the south of Abyei (in the Ngok Dinka territory) in search of grazing land and water for their livestock during the dry season, creating tension and con�ict between both tribes.

In June 2016, Misseriya and Ngok Dinka representatives signed a peace agreement to strengthen inter-tribal relations. The agreement led to the establishment of the Amiet joint market for the commu-nities to trade in, hence playing a pivotal role in an initial transition towards peace. In addition, the agreement led to the Joint Community Peace Committee voluntarily set up by representatives of both tribes to meet biweekly to discuss their community needs, cattle, trading and security issues.

In 2016, the UN contributed to community stabilization and social cohesion between the Misseriya and Ngok Dinka tribes in Abyei by addressing the most urgent gaps in basic services and social infrastruc-tures, thereby mitigating further escalation of tensions over available resources and food insecurity. Within UN programming, all projects adopted a balanced approach and provided equal assistance to the Misseriya and Ngok Dinka. This approach allays protection concerns and promotes social cohesion by empowering society through community ownership, whilst at the same time supporting the estab-lishment of new local institutions to promote and sustain social reconciliation.

Around 3,400 men, women and children, as well as 15 to 20 trucks transit through the joint Amiet market every day. The market location also directly connects Sudan to South Sudan, between Kadugli, Mugilat, Diffra, Amiet, Juba, Agok and Wau. Through one of the activities in Abyei, the UN drilled a hand-pump to ensure that access to safe water would be readily available at this crowded market, therefore sustaining and supporting the peace initiative between the Misseriya and the Ngok Dinka.

“Amiet Market for us is a step towards peace and our communities can come together, trade and learn from each other. We started supporting one another. The needs are many, there is no water, no health services, not enough schools and security remains to be an issue. The international community has supported us a lot, but more is needed” says a member of the Misseriya tribe.

Promoting Trade and Peace through Amiet Market, Abyei

Men, women, as well as children �ock daily at the Amiet market to buy and sell food and household stu�. Photo shows a woman preparing a local dish to sell on a Saturday morning in Amiet.Photo by UNISFA

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This UN-supported initiative demonstrates that community empowerment can promote peace and stabili-ty, especially when community members feel ownership of the interventions and can take the lead in mitigating con�ict within their communities; at the same time this process needs to be supported by the restoration and enhancement of social services to restore peace.

A member from the Ngok Dinka tribe added: “When a member of the Misseriya had 200 cattle stolen, we went as far down in South Sudan as we could to recover the lost cattle, but we were only able to recover 20 of the lost cattle. We try and support one another how we can, but we don’t live in a secure environment.”

“ ““Amiet Market for us is a step towards peace and our communi-ties can come together, trade and learn from each other. We started supporting one another. The needs are many, there is no water, no health services, not enough schools and security remains to be an issue. The international community has sup-ported us a lot, but more is needed” says a member of the Mis-seriya tribe.”

Mohamed YousifMember of the Misseriya tribe


3. Main Challenges to Implementation of the UNDAF

Some of the main challenges to the implementation of UN development programming in 2016 identi�ed across UNDAF focus areas are:

• Insecurity resulted in access restrictions to conflict areas.

• Delays and the unpredictable time needed to obtain travel permits and visas had an impact on project implementation, as did lengthy customs procedures.

• Sanctions imposed on Sudan continued to present difficulties to project implementation.

• Coordination between and within Government, UN, donors and other partners was not always optimal for smooth project implementation.

• Institutional changes in government structures, high turnover of staff, in addition to overlapping mandates and lack of clear jurisdiction, posed challenges.

• The capacities of partners to implement projects have been inadequate in some instances. Partners’ limited funding capacities have similarly been a challenge, with Government inability to cost-share contributions to some projects impacting implementation, buy-in and sustainability.

• Paucity of data and information, in particular comprehensive, reliable and timely data, has been a challenge for planning, implementation, monitoring, advocacy, etc.

• Socio-cultural norms are sometimes not conducive to achieving project objectives. This applies for example in the areas of family planning and female genital mutilation/cutting.

• Resources available for UNDAF implementation have decreased over time. Donor focus continues to be on humanitarian assistance, although there is increasing interest in recovery and durable solutions.

• Inflation and fluctuations in the exchange rates have affected project implementation.

• Adverse weather conditions/rainy season caused delays in implementation of some projects.

4. Emerging Opportunities for the UNDAF

• The Government of Sudan has shown strong commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals since their endorsement in 2015. There is a clear opportunity for the UN in establishing a strategic partnership with the National Population Council, the National Council for Strategic Planning and other potential partners to ensure the implementation and monitoring of relevant goals.

• The Government is finalizing the National Strategic Plan 2017-2020. The strategic focus that will come with the new plan can help the UN prioritize its development interventions in the coming period.

• The Government engaged in a number of sector reforms, for example in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector, that can lead to improved coordination and scaling up of services, facilitating the implementation of UNDAF programming.

UNDAF 47

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• Increased availability of data and information through the results of the baseline poverty survey (to be published), the Climate Assessment published in 2016, the child multidimensional and inequality study, the in-depth study on female genital mutilation-child marriage, and others, will provide a solid evidence base for the UN’s future planning and programming activities.

• The development of the Multi-Year Humanitarian Strategy will help place greater emphasis on transitional assistance and support for durable solutions and social cohesion, which will in turn help improve the coherence between humanitarian assistance and recovery/development programmes in the UNDAF. Furthermore, the ongoing discussions on the humanitarian-development-peace nexus are a good opportunity to initiate joined-up programmes and new partnerships between di�erent agencies in this context.

• Sudan hosts substantial numbers of refugees from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Chad and South Sudan, and their numbers are likely to grow. The international community is aware of the environmental and livelihood pressures on host communities and is likely to direct more resources to these communities in the area of natural resource management and livelihoods resilience, as well as to migration issues.

• Prevention of violent extremism is a good opportunity for joint programming, more specifically activities aiming to prevent and respond to the drivers and consequences of violent extremism.

• The relative peace in Darfur is a light at the end of the tunnel that may gain momentum and lead towards returns and other durable solutions for internally displaced people. It is a promising programming area for post-con�ict recovery and may be an opportunity to move from humanitarian aid to development. The already well-studied Darfur Development Strategy framework can canalize this humanitarian-development nexus.

• The partial lifting of sanctions on Sudan, if confirmed, could bring new opportunities, ranging from possible greater donor interest in development programming in Sudan to easier importation of project supplies.

Reporting Agencies

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Prepared by United Nations Resident Coordinator’s O�ce in SudanUNDP Sudan Gama'a Avenue,House 7, Block 5P.O. Box 913Postal Code 11111Khartoum - Sudan

[email protected]

September 2017

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