DRA Sudan Joint Response 2021 (SDNJR3) NCA Humanitarian Assisantance to people in need in Sudan Third consecutive DRA Joint Response targeting people in need in Sudan (North Darfur, South Kordofan and Khartoum) in sectors WASH and Health mainly, small FSL and Protection component. On top of that response to refugees coming in from Ethiopia (Tigray) in Gadaref, linked to ACT appeal. Covid-19 mainstreaming throughout. The aim of the Dutch Relief Alliance (DRA) is to support lifesaving activities and to alleviate suffering. This will be done through integrated and coordinated humanitarian responses, focusing on the most vulnerable people and enhancing access to humanitarian assistance and protection services through principled humanitarian action. DRA launches yearly Joint Responses (JRs) in countries where this is needed, in this case in Sudan. The JR in Sudan continues in 2021 for the third consecutive year, as this is a protracted crisis that started as JR by DRA in 2019. ICCO joined the Sudan JR in 2020, so 2021 will be the second year ICCO participates in the Sudan JR. 
This response, SDNJR3, continues on and links with the previous responses SDNJR1 & SDNJR2. ICCO / NCA was not one of the SDNJR1 members. However,  SDNJR1 members identified a gap in the response to Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) including harmful practices and access to Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) in North Darfur. The need for such services, especially in North Darfur was and continues to be extremely high. Since ICCO’s partner NCA, and the local partners of NCA, have Health and GBV expertise, the SDNJR2 expanded its sectoral scope to include health to bridge this identified gap. Also the SDNJR2 responded to the floods in Sudan in the autumn of 2020, where ICCO through NCA focussed on the areas around Khartoum. In the end of 2020 the conflict that broke out in Tigray, Ethiopia, caused many people fleeing from Ethiopia to Sudan, hence assistance is also planned to be given to those people in the Eastern States (Ghadaref and Kassala).
ICCO implements mainly through ACT Alliance member NCA, which works with local partners ERRADA, NIDAA and DDRA. Part of the implementation will be done by NCA itself, the main part by the local partners and ICCO will provide technical expertise in the FSL sector. ICCO and NCA in the SDNJR3 will focus on South Kordofan, North Darfur, Khartoum and these Eastern States to provide assistance in sectors WASH, FSL, Health, Protection and Cash. 

About the crisis in Sudan: Immediate and deepening humanitarian needs in Sudan stem from protracted civil wars, political instability and an economy in freefall, compounded, in recent months, by unprecedented natural disasters including the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread flooding in 17 or the 18 states throughout Sudan.

The impact of COVID-19 has seen a general collapse in community-based primary health clinics (PHCs) and allied services with a shift towards the resourcing of larger health care facilities and hospitals. This represents a chronic gap in peri-urban localities in Khartoum. A second wave of COVID-19 is currently going through the country.
 
Overall, the flood situation in Sudan is the worst in living memory, affecting over 50,000 families or an estimated 506,000 individuals across 17 states. Khartoum State is clearly the most severely impacted country-wide with about 110,000 people reportedly affected, according to HAC. Urgent needs include health, WASH, and shelter/NFIs. Special attention needs to be paid to supporting vulnerable people including those with disabilities, the elderly, and pregnant women, as they have limited mobility. 

WASH needs are high, especially to combat water borne diseases. The lingering legacy of flooding will extend well into 2021 and it is anticipated that the humanitarian crisis will deepen, across all sectors especially health (water-borne diseases), WASH, FSL and GBV even though the current emergency may dissipate in the coming months.  

ICCO-NCA advocates for more effective humanitarian response. This is particularly relevant for the refugee response in Sudan. The South Sudanese refugee situation is the largest response in Africa. Refugees from South Sudan account for 76 per cent of all reported refugees in Sudan. According to the recent UNHCR Sudan: Population Dashboard, Khartoum state which is one of the SDNJR3 intervention sites is home to 283,832 refugees or 33 per cent of all South Sudan refugees in Sudan, whereas the refugee responses typically focus on peripheral regions of the Greater Kordofan and Darfur, and Nilotic states. The populous Khartoum and its refugees are often overlooked. Within its urban and peri-urban confines are countless people in dire need of live-saving humanitarian assistance. 

Finally, the diminished status of women and girls deserves mention and scrutiny. Specialized lifesaving services e.g comprehensive management of illnesses affecting women, psycho-social support (PSS), including individual counselling, case management and livelihood/empowerment support are unavailable in over 80% of affected localities in Sudan, and where available, their quality needs to be strengthened. 

ICCO-NCA’s proposed interventions are aligned with the Global Humanitarian Overview Sudan 2021. 

Setup of ICCO - NCA - local partners:
Through this project NCA will coordinate the response of the implementing partners ERRADA, NIDAA and DDRA with capacity strengthening activities and technical assistance in the areas (North Darfur, South Kordofan and Khartoum) and sectors (WASH, FSL and Health) where they implement. In the SDNJR3, NCA will also implement itself in the Ghadaref region (in the protection sector). ICCO will provide technical assistance in the FSL sector and function as end responsible towards DRA.

Implementing partners: 

ERRADA
The Emergency Relief and Rehabilitation Development Agency (ERRADA) is NCA’s core partner since it is the only longstanding, faith-based partner in Sudan. It was established by the Sudan Council of Churches in 1997 to operate as its humanitarian wing of and works with communities to deliver integrated social services.  ERRADA is registered with the government/HAC since 1998 and operates countrywide providing social development services with a focus on social coexistence amongst conflict-affected communities. ERRADA’s main interventions started with NCA Khartoum in 2012 and South Darfur in 2013 in the following areas: primary health care (i.e. control of communicable disease, HIV awareness, promotion of education), women empowerment, livelihoods, IGAs, disability awareness programs, emergency preparedness and response, sanitation and hygiene promotion.

NIDAA
Sudanese Development Call Organization (NIDAA) is a non-political, non-governmental, not-for-profit and non-discriminatory organization established in 1998 and registered in Khartoum under auspices of HAC in 2000. Community participation, sustainable development and vulnerable people first are the backbone of their approach. NIDAA is concerned about the development-needs especially among the most vulnerable, disadvantaged and generally impoverished groups of the Sudanese society. The first fund by NCA to NIDAA was in 2011.

DDRA
Darfur Development and Reconstruction Agency (DDRA) is a NGO in Darfur. The organization is new to the Sudan JR. DDRA is located in the communities in Darfur and strives for to help the people of Sudan, in general and those of Darfur in particular, to escape their current marginalization and suffering; reduce current unbearable levels of poverty; and manage their natural resources for their best interests. DDRA adds expertise in cash and GBV in the Darfur region.