Japan grants $2.4 million for strengthening community resilience in Sudan

The Japanese government has committed an additional $2.4 million for UNDP’s on-going work supporting Sudan’s most vulnerable and at-risk communities, focusing on Darfur, Kordofan, Blue Nile state, White Nile state, Sennar, and Khartoum.

Now in its sixth year, the funding will assist UNDP’s project ‘Promoting social stability for at risk groups and communities in Sudan`s Southern states, the Darfur region and the Suburbs of Khartoum’, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Sudan announced in a press release on Sunday.

The project strengthens the stability and resilience of conflict-affected communities to socioeconomic risks – like youth unemployment, crime, and pressure on basic services -– by improving job access, and improving local capacity to advocate and lead community development and address conflict, UNDP Sudan states.

Its job creation and training efforts focus on unemployed youth, women, displaced populations and people with limited job opportunities – with 78,120 people receiving training, support, or employment opportunities so far.

The project also prioritizes leadership skill-building within communities, government and civil society, establishing 55 ‘community management committees’ to date, trained in local development, conflict resolution, and project and financial management to ensure sustainability.

Community ownership

The additional support from the Government of Japan will allow 4,000 more people to be assisted, and eight new community committees to be formed in additional locations.

“We believe in the power of community ownership and community-led solutions for development and peace,” the Embassy of Japan in Sudan commented.

“Our support ensures groups across Sudan can lead and own infrastructure creation, socioeconomic protection efforts, and job creation. They will also be equipped to solve and mitigate conflicts, and include marginalized groups such as at-risk/unemployed youth, displaced persons, persons living with disabilities and refugees in community life.”

Thanking the Japanese Government, UNDP Sudan’s Resident Representative Selva Ramachandran said, “Our success is achieved by increasing communities’ ability to self-manage, and ensure that leadership is inclusive and draws on the strength and knowledge of local leaders, youth, and women.”

“Now more than ever this support is critical, facing an economic crisis including fuel and bread shortages, and Covid-19 impacts. Japan’s support aligns and enables our own to protect against this double burden, mitigating crop failure, creating job opportunities, and supporting renewable energy use. Their timely contribution will help the Government of Sudan and UNDP recover and rebuild better from Covid-19.”

Stabilisation programme

UNDP’s work in this area is made possible by a partnership with Sudan’s Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) Commission.

Commissioner General Maj Gen Abdelrahman Abdelhamid thanked “the Government and the people of Japan for their unwavering and continuous support, and being a consistent and trusted partner of Sudan in peace and development.

“With this additional support, we will be able to substantially contribute to stability and development of numerous communities, and materially improve people’s lives”.

The Japan-supported project forms part of UNDP Sudan’s wider community security and stabilisation efforts in Darfur, Kordofan, Blue Nile state, White Nile state, Sennar, and Khartoum.

The efforts have assisted 55 communities and 88,542 people so far – 51 per cent of them unemployed youth – through job creation, peacebuilding, food security and climate resilience efforts.

Its most recent work saw wheat grown in southern White Nile state for the first time, harvesting 4.9 million bread loaves-worth of wheat.

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