Provision of lifesaving emergency food security and livelihood support to the IDPs and destitute vulnerable host communities in South Kordofan State In line with the Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SHF), second round allocation paper – 2017, based on the new displacements in South Kordofan State (SKS), the irregular rainfall and projected early end of rains, and the needs and gaps surfaced during the implementation of current consortium project (SUD-17/HSD20/S1/FSL/INGO/4783), the proposed project aims to mitigate the imminent deterioration of food security and nutrition conditions among Internally Displaced People (IDP) and vulnerable host communities, and to protect livelihood assets of an estimated 173,243 direct beneficiaries in SKS: 121,169 in Kadugli and 52,074 in Rashad localities. Villages include Murta, Kulba, Tillow, and As-Samma in Kadugli locality, and Tag Malla and Rashad central in Rashad locality.

Based on the post-distribution monitoring (PDM) of the agriculture inputs, carried out by MC during the months of July, August and September 2017, the food security situation for the targeted localities is expected to deteriorate and result in an acute food security and livelihood crisis as per the 2016 agricultural season outcome. The situation is expected to worsen in these localities due to a projected early end of rains this year, compounded with the arrival of IDPs from Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) controlled areas seeking basic services and food lacking in their areas.

MC proposes a combination of innovative livelihood interventions, including but not limited to the vegetable plantation for the winter season, income generating activities for female-headed households and youth, combined with a longer-term approach through innovative cash assistance through village savings and loan associations (VSLAs) methodology and small startup cash grants, with needed business development trainings and market linkages building. These interventions are aimed at providing emergency lifesaving food security assistance with an early recovery approach, coupled with strengthening the targeted communities’ resilience and protecting and improving their existing livelihood assets to pave the way forward for the early recovery of these communities.

The project will support an estimated 28,873 households, including new displacements and IDPs facing long-term displacement, returnees,  and extremely vulnerable host communities,  and a smaller percentage of South Sudanese refugees (SSRs) through the provision of agricultural inputs and other project interventions targeted at the household level. The most vulnerable households (i.e. female-headed households, new displacements and household with limited access to land) are already suffering from lack of food stocks due to reduced crop production (reduced land cultivated due to insecurity leading to low yields), diminishing food stocks, and a decreased ability to purchase food due to increased market prices. This is forcing these affected households to sell productive assets, take loans, reduce meal frequency and quality and begging in order to cope with the prevailing food security situation. This is further exacerbated by the influx of new displacements forced to flee SPLM-N controlled areas because of the complete lack of services and food.

Within these extremely vulnerable communities, particular attention will be given to the households: 
- headed by women as the only breadwinner for the family 
- with pregnant women and lactating mothers 
- with children under the age of five and/or malnourished children and
- with people with disabilities and the elderly.

This project is designed to provide cost-effective coverage through expertise and cost sharing during the overlapping period with MC’s ongoing FSL consortium project funded by the SHF 2017 - first round allocation. Furthermore, this project is part of MC’s strategic FSL and WASH integrated programming in SKS which aims to enhance the resilience of affected populations and reduce their dependency on external humanitarian aid by providing long-term