Primary Health Care provision for vulnerable populations affected by food insecurity and malnutrition   - Sudan Half of Sudan¿s population remains without access to appropriate primary health care services. Maternal and child health indicators are extremely poor. In addition, in a context of drought, poor harvest and dire economic crisis, food insecurity is rising. Malnutrition among children is widespread. 38% of children under five are stunted and one in six children is acutely malnourished (wasting)(Global Health report 2021). This Action is part of the overall strategy of the EU in Sudan for 2022 focussed on support to basic services to the population. With its emphasis on nutrition the Action complements the programme on food security and resilience, which aims at increased availability of nutritious food, as well as the school feeding activities of the Education programmeThe proposed Action aims at sustained delivery of essential health care and nutrition services for vulnerable populations among displaced and host communities in indicatively nine States of Sudan, including North, Central and South Darfur, South Kordofan, and the Eastern States (Red Sea, Kassala, Blue Nile, and Gedaref) as well as Khartoum peri-urban areas.&nbsp;Drawing upon lessons learnt from past EU funded projects and in reference to emerging health priorities, the proposed Action will support the local health care structures at Primary Health Care (PHC) level. These will include nutrition services, access to preventive and curative health care, retention of health workforce, ensuring the supply chain of essential drugs and the referral system. A participatory approach will address behaviour change interventions targeting nutrition and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH), Family Planning (FP), among others. This will be complemented by addressing financial barriers to accessing health care through bolstering National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) subscriptions as well as through cash transfers to pregnant and lactating mothers. Active engagement and coordination of partners, beneficiaries, and local communities will be ensured, in line with the PHC model of care.The overall objective of this Action is to contribute to improve the health conditions of vulnerable populations affected by extreme poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition in Sudan including IDPs, refugees and Host Communities. The overall objective reflects the EU commitment to SDG 3 (sub-target 8): Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and to UHC 2030 Health Systems Strengthening towards Universal Health Coverage. The specific objective is to To increase sustainable access to and demand for quality Primary Health Care (PHC), nutrition and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services in targeted States, including for host communities, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees.&nbsp;The outputs to be delivered by this Action, contributing to the corresponding Specific Objective are:&nbsp;Primary healthcare, nutrition and&nbsp;Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services at Primary Health Care (PHC) centre and community level improved,&nbsp;including for IDPs, refugees and host communities, with particular reference to women and girls and people with disabilities (PwD);Management capacity and accountability of local health systems strengthened;Socio-cultural behavioural and gender barriers to health and nutrition are reduced;Financial barriers to maternal and child healthcare and Family Planning (FP) are reduced