WASH supplies for crisis-affected children and communities. Sudan has the lowest rate of access to improved sanitation in North Africa and the Middle East region. According to the MICS (2014), the percentage of the household population using both improved drinking water sources and improved sanitation facilities was only 28.2 per cent. Each year, the rainy season in Sudan causes flooding, which affect up to 13 million people, destroying or damaging homes and livelihoods. Floods also increase the risk of disease outbreaks, including acute watery diarrhea/cholera, particularly in areas where people have limited access to water and sanitation facilities and with limited health infrastructure.

As of 24 May 2020, the Federal Ministry of Health had recorded 3,628 cases of COVID-19 since the first confirmed case on 13 March 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) has rated Sudan as an at risk country for the spread of COVID-19, based on risk profile and capacity of the country to respond to a potential outbreak. Sudan’s health system has limited capacity, marked by decades of limited investment, under-funding, and lack of qualified staff, infrastructure, equipment, medicines and supplies and has significant gaps in preparedness capacity for technical and operational implementation. Currently, the surveillance system does not cover the entire country and is structurally weak.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates the humanitarian situation in Sudan already characterised by protracted, complex and overlapping humanitarian challenges. The situation of children and families in Sudan continues to deteriorate amid a continued severe and acute economic crisis, fueled by shortages of fuel, cash, and bread which has hit vulnerable children and families hard, and slowed down humanitarian and development operations including those of the government. According to the Humanitarian Needs Overview (2020), at the beginning of 2020, 9.3 million people – of which 5.3 million are children – are in need of humanitarian assistance (a sharp increase from the 5.5 million people/2.5 million children in need of humanitarian assistance in 2019). Sudan has one of the worst health indicators in the region and the disparity between urban and rural and between rich and poor is huge. 

During emergencies it is essential to rapidly intervene to prevent a deterioration of the situation. Lifesaving supplies and services ensure that the immediate needs of the affected population are met, besides averting life-threatening situations, especially in situations of floods and disease outbreaks. Communication for Development (C4D) interventions are essential for ensuring immediate community awareness as well as long-term support in preparedness and prevention efforts that reduce the risk of future outbreaks. The proposed supplies will focus on lifesaving WASH interventions for the COVID-19 affected and at risk, AWD/cholera and flood-affected and at-risk children and their families in Gedaref, Kassala, North Darfur, North Kordofan, Red Sea, Sennar, South Darfur, South Kordofan, White Nile states through the purchase and distribution of lifesaving WASH supplies (water treatment chemicals, water storage tanks, soap, plastic sheets and slabs) and contribute the achievement of the allocation strategy and two outcomes of the 2020 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP): 1) Provide timely multi‐sectoral lifesaving assistance to crisis affected people to reduce mortality and morbidity, 2) Contribute to building resilience to recurrent shocks and improving vulnerable people’s access to basic services.