Sudan
In 2007, Sudan continues to cope with the effects of conflict, displacement, and insecurity countrywide. During more than two decades of conflict between the former Government of Sudan (GOS) and the southern-based Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), fighting, famine, and disease have killed more than 2 million people, forced an estimated 600,000 to seek refuge in neighboring countries, and displaced 4 million others within Sudan—the largest internally displaced person (IDP) population in the world. The former GOS and the SPLM signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and formed the joint Government of National Unity (GNU) in 2005, officially ending the North-South conflict. The U.N. estimated that hundreds of thousands of displaced persons returned to Southern Sudan from 2005 to 2007, taxing scarce resources and weak infrastructure.
Conflict in the western region of Darfur has entered its fourth year, despite a peace agreement between the GNU and one faction of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), signed in May 2006. Fighting among armed opposition group factions, Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and militias persisted throughout 2006 and 2007, displacing hundreds of thousands of civilians. The complex emergency in Darfur affects approximately 4.2 million people.
The U.S. Government (USG) is the leading international donor to Sudan and has contributed more than $2 billion for humanitarian programs in Sudan and eastern Chad since FY 2004, including nearly $775 million in FY 2006 alone. The U.S. Mission in Sudan has declared disasters due to the complex emergency on an annual basis since 1987. On October 16, 2006, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Cameron R. Hume renewed the Sudan disaster declaration for FY 2007. The USG continues to lead the international effort to support implementation of the CPA, while providing for the humanitarian needs of conflict-affected populations throughout the country.
Humanitarian Assistance
USAID humanitarian programs assist people displaced by conflict and provide basic services in traditionally underserved areas. Nearly 40 partners implement programs countrywide in health, nutrition, food security, agriculture, shelter, protection, relief supplies, income generation, and water, sanitation, and hygiene services. In Darfur, USAID provides life-saving assistance to more than 3 million people affected by conflict, and in Southern Sudan and the Three Areas, programs support Sudan's transition to peace and stability.
Food
USAID provides emergency food aid to meet the basic needs of millions of vulnerable people throughout Sudan. Commodity deliveries prioritize areas of acute food insecurity and target vulnerable groups, specifically women and children. The United States is by far the largest international donor of food aid to Sudan, and provided two-thirds of all contributions received by the World Food Program for its 2006 Sudan operations, which serve 2.9 million people in Darfur and 3.2 million in the rest of the country. In FY 2006, USAID provided 475,910 metric tons of food worth nearly $457.8 million to people in Sudan and Eastern Chad.
Transition
USAID supports the emergence of effective civil authorities and an informed civil society as Sudan works to move from war to peace. Transition initiatives aim to build understanding about the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and Darfur Peace Agreement, inform citizens of their roles and responsibilities, cultivate dialogue, establish an independent media, and protect vulnerable people. The program is an integral part of the U.S. government's effort to strengthen Sudanese capacity to address the causes and consequences of political conflict, violence, and instability.
Reconstruction
USAID reconstruction programs, primarily operating in the South and the Three Areas (Abyei, Blue Nile, and Southern Kordofan), support the establishment of a foundation for a just and durable peace with the broad participation of the Sudanese people. Activities focus on governance, education, health, and economic growth.
USAID Sudan Strategy Statement
USAID Monthly Update, November 2007 (pdf,432kb) | View the Sudan Monthly Update Archive
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