EU-funded humanitarian project launches to Support Conflict-Affected Communities in Sudan

Press Release

Funded by the European Union through its Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) with a grant of €1 million, the project is targeting the most vulnerable, including displaced persons, women, girls, and others with increased risks to become victims of violence and abuse. The aim is to deliver life-saving assistance such as water, sanitation and hygiene services in hard-to-reach and underserved areas with the highest needs. In addition, the project is providing protection assistance to communities affected by gender-based violence. The project aims to support and empower target communities and local organisations to effectively plan and implement humanitarian response.

The project includes a rapid response protocol for timely intervention in case of sudden humanitarian needs. Local partners and NCA staff are positioned to respond immediately with available resources.

“This project represents a critical step in reaching the most vulnerable communities in Sudan,” said Dirk Peter Hanekom, Country Director at Norwegian Church Aid (NCA). “The project not only aims to meet urgent humanitarian needs by integrating water, sanitation and hygiene, and protection services, but also empowers our local partners to lead in service delivery.”

“The humanitarian crisis in Sudan’s Central Darfur and White Nile State has reached catastrophic levels, with ongoing conflict and subsequent displacement overwhelming already fragile response systems. The EU, together with partners like the Norwegian Church Aid, remains committed to delivering critical relief to the ones most affected by this crisis,” said Elke Leidel, the Head of Office for EU Humanitarian Aid in Sudan.

Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) is the lead partner in this consortium leading the efforts in Central Darfur and CAFOD, together with Caritas Sudan, is implementing this project in the White Nile region. Both NCA and CAFOD provide technical oversight, compliance, and capacity-building support to local organisations.

About EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid

The European Union and its Member States are among the world's leading donors of humanitarian aid. Relief assistance is an expression of European solidarity with people in need all around the world. It aims to save lives, prevent and alleviate human suffering, and safeguard the integrity and human dignity of populations affected by disasters and human-induced crises.

Through the Directorate General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations of the European Commission, the European Union helps millions of victims of conflict and disasters every year. With headquarters in Brussels and a global network of field offices, the EU provides assistance to the most vulnerable people on the basis of humanitarian needs.