Cash helps families on the move

Sudan | 2023 | CBPF

Sudan, Gedaref. Three women displaced from Omdurman, in Sudan’s Khartoum State, waited in a room at Gedaref City Municipality, where the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) had set up a cash assistance point.

The women showed their IDs, signed the required forms, and received 177,100 Sudanese pounds (US$275), provided by NRC, thanks to funding from the Sudan Humanitarian Fund.

The funds offer some relief in these difficult times. One woman explained, “I will buy cooking pots, plates, cups and some mats for my family with this money.”  

Since war broke out in April 2023, 8.1 million people have been displaced inside and outside Sudan, and nearly 25 million people – more than half of them children – need humanitarian assistance. And with 17.7 million people facing acute hunger, the upcoming harvest is expected to be critically reduced, driving even higher food prices.

Some families are displaced multiple times – and their needs are great.

In Gedaref, NRC decided to use cash to help people with basic household items and shelter because it is more effective, faster, and easier to control. Distributing in-kind supplies would require importing those items from overseas, as the conflict has disrupted Sudan’s production and supply chains.

Phyllis Wanja, an Area Support Manager in eastern Sudan, said that NRC advocates for cash assistance for shelter and basic items, but also for other needs. “With cash assistance, the people we are aiming to support, especially with multi-purpose cash, can get what they actually need, based on their priorities,” she said.

One of the women said that she needed to fix the roof of her family’s shelter, and this money would help. “We are a large family: my father, mother, brother and sisters, and their children”, she added. “We will create more space by putting up poles and covering them with plastic sheets to protect us from the sun.”

November 2023

Adapted from an original story from OCHA Sudan. For more information: visit the Sudan Humanitarian Fund and find real-time contribution and allocation data on the POOLED FUNDS DATA HUB.