Sudan and Eritrea

Sudan has been the theatre of a series of humanitarian operations for several decades. The SDC's main goal in Sudan is to save lives and protect the victims of armed conflicts and natural disasters. It is involved in the fields of food security and agriculture, emergency aid and the protection of civilians.

The power struggles and violence that have beset Sudan in recent decades have exacerbated the poverty and vulnerability of Sudan's civilian populations.

Switzerland's activities on the ground are primarily focused on humanitarian aid. The SDC's projects are part of an integrated cooperation strategy that encompasses the activities of the FDFA's Directorate of Political Affairs and the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM).

Food security and agriculture

Strengthening the resilience of vulnerable populations

In the regions of Darfur, South Kordofan/Abyei, Blue Nile and in the east of the country, civilians regularly face the risk of food insecurity owing to the ongoing conflicts and the forced population movements caused by them. The droughts triggered by erratic rainfall and overgrazing increase the vulnerability of communities.

The SDC supports the food and seed distribution activities of the World Food Programme (WFP) and other UN agencies. It also supports livestock vaccination projects, especially those of the ICRC, as livestock farming is an important means of livelihood for a large number of Sudanese families.

Agriculture and food security

Emergency aid  

Access to basic services

The inter-communal violence in Darfur which has been ongoing since 2003 and the conflicts that have broken out in the south of the country since 2011 have led to the displacement of thousands of people. They have very limited access to drinking water, well-functioning infrastructure and health care. The situation of people in the rest of the country is hardly better. The SDC is working to ensure a better provision of basic services backed by all levels of government in Sudan, starting with local authorities and communities.

The SDC also seconds experts from the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit to its UN partners.  

Disaster risk reduction, emergency relief and reconstruction

Humanitarian access and protection

Protecting internally displaced persons and refugees

Protecting civilians in the context of armed conflict is one of Switzerland's priorities in Sudan. The violence in Darfur and in the provinces of South Kordofan/Abyei and Blue Nile has forced thousands of people to flee their homes. The tensions have had a direct impact on individuals' well-being. War has traumatic after effects, particularly on children. Switzerland is working to ensure that all parties comply with international humanitarian law. In partnership with the ICRC and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) it calls on government authorities and armed groups to protect victims and allow humanitarian aid organisations access to them.

Lastly, Switzerland provides support to refugees and migrants in the Horn of Africa region. A joint effort by the SEM and the SDC covers their basic needs, and also provides support to the communities that host them.

Fragility and violence impede poverty reduction

History of cooperation

Two decades of humanitarian aid

Swiss Humanitarian Aid has been active in Sudan since 1994. Before and after the peace accords were signed in 2005 between the Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, efforts focused on the Nuba Mountains region in the centre and south of the country. From 2003, the consequences of the war in Darfur were added to the SDC's priorities. Half the aid has gone to emergency aid and half to rehabilitation projects. In 2004 and again in 2006, offices were opened in Khartoum and Juba to coordinate the activities of Swiss Humanitarian Aid and other Swiss actors. When Sudan was divided into two independent states in 2011, the SDC doubled the budget it had previously allocated to the former Sudan.