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Leading the field in South & East Darfur

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Our Work:

Sudan

In Sudan, the work of our 1,000-strong is all about strengthening communities. That includes investing in healthcare infrastructure and ensuring that people who live in some of the most remote, hard to reach areas still have access to clean, safe drinking water. It also includes making sure that Sudanese children have a healthy start with our nutrition programs, and working with communities to build peace, social cohesion and economic development. Our teams in East Sudan are also providing lifesaving services to some 200,000 refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers.

Driven by the belief that we can unleash abundance in even the scarcest of places, Alight applies a co-creation approach with the government, partners, donors, and the people and communities we serve to co-design solutions to some of today’s most pressing humanitarian and development challenges. Alight is grateful to the Government of Sudan and all our partners, that we can continue to respond to the needs of internally displaced people, host communities, and those who seek refuge here.

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Sudan is a place of great hope, promise, and abundance. We are honored to serve Sudan and the millions of people who need lifesaving assistance. For more than 15 years, we have been on the frontlines of response for one of the world’s largest, longest humanitarian crises.

Today, more than 9 million people need humanitarian assistance. Yet, Sudan is also ready for long-term development. As we continue responding to growing humanitarian need, we also support the country’s long-term stability through programs aimed at mitigating conflict, promoting peace, and providing educational and economic opportunities for Sudan and its next generation.”

– Heidi Diedrich, Sudan Country Director

An Integrated Approach

So many of the issues that communities and our teams are grappling with are interwoven. An approach that tackles these challenges at once is the most successful way to stop unnecessary mortality and meaningfully improve living conditions for the community across the board. That’s why our integrated approach to health care, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene is so vital. Our teams coordinate closely for the best results for the communities we serve.

We're now operating a total of 25 primary health care clinics in South and East Darfur. The new clinics have allowed us to access at-risk populations, bringing them a wide range of health services in some of the most remote areas of the world. We are now the major international organization working in East Darfur, leading the field in humanitarian aid.

Malnutrition, particularly among children, is reaching emergency levels in Sudan. The most recent national survey estimates that 500,000 children under 5 years of age suffer from severe acute malnutrition, and up to two million children are underdeveloped. We address this crisis head on at our nutrition stabilization centers for the most critical cases and through feeding programs, educational campaigns, cooking demonstrations, treatment and prevention.

Most of South and East Darfur is a semi-arid landscape, susceptible to drought, with few natural surface water sources. We first assess the water needs of communities and then develop projects alongside them that provide clean water, sanitation, and hygiene education. We work to rebuild and maintain lost critical infrastructure, and help communities to learn and manage these resources themselves.

Responding for Refugees in East Sudan

Alight is currently providing lifesaving services to some 200,000 people in East Sudan in Kassala and Gedaref states. In Kassala, our team provides health care and water, sanitation and hygiene support to Eritrean refugees in 5 different refugee camps. And in November 2020, Alight’s team was among the first organizations to respond to the influx of Ethiopian refugees in Sudan’s Gedaref state. Alight helped to re-established Um Rakuba and Tunaydbah refugee camps, and is Alight is a lead responders in health, nutrition, WASH and protection services.

Promoting a peaceful coexistence

Sudan continues through its vital period of transition since 2019. A surge in inter communal violence in early 2021 underscores the fragility and complexity of the peace process. Lasting peace will ultimately allow for stability, prosperity, and development in the region. Alight provides peace-building activities in Darfur, encouraging community-level conflict resolution and cooperation amongst neighbors. We're also establishing rural savings committees and providing income generating tools and trainings to provide economic opportunity and mitigate conflict. By encouraging collaboration rather than competition, we hope to be even a small part of promoting peace in the region.

Prioritizing women & children

Sudan has a devastatingly high maternal and infant mortality rate. We’ve been working to turn this trend around, making women and children a priority and ensuring the availability of reproductive health for all we can access. Women receive comprehensive care throughout their pregnancy with pre-natal and post-natal consultations, often with midwives we’ve trained. We give them the supplies they need, including vitamins, soap, and any medications, safeguarding them against harmful infections and malnutrition before and after birth.

Sudan: Recent Info

Emergency Response: Ethiopia

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As Ethiopian Refugees Flee, Alight Teams Mobilize to Do the Doable 

Since November 2020, our Alight team in Sudan and our team in Ethiopia have been responding to the devastating humanitarian crisis that continues unraveling in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. When war broke out in Tigray, hospitals shut down and there was widespread sexual violence. 2 million people in Ethiopia fled to other parts of the country and more than 60,000 refugees crossed into Sudan. Read More

How Alight Teams Are Providing Meals for Moms

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One hot meal is changing everything for moms in Rwanda and Sudan

No matter where you live, giving birth can be both a joyful and stressful time—in the minutes, hours, and days after birth, it’s critical that both mom and baby get the care they need to heal and grow. But in resource-limited refugee camp settings like Rwanda and Sudan, that time just after birth can often be shortened, sending moms home without even a hot meal. Read More

2016 Changemakers Competition

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ARC Staff Making Change

On World Refugee Day, we launched our fourth annual Changemakers Award Competition. Changemakers is an ideas competition for our 1,600 staff around the world. We ask everyone one simple question and provide the platform for their ideas to pour in. (more…)

ARC Gets 4 Stars

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Four Stars, Five Years Running

For the fifth year in a row, American Refugee Committee has attained the coveted 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for demonstrating strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency! The 4-star rating is the highest possible rating – only 6% of the organizations evaluated by Charity Navigator, (more…)

Conversations on World Refugee Day

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ARC Team Shares What They've Heard From Refugees

In honor of World Refugee Day, we shared conversations we had with four of our team members who traveled across the globe to speak to refugees who are living in the reality of the Global Refugee Crisis. Read More
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