It’s taken a small fortune to operate as a humanitarian organization in Sudan. The staggering levels of inflation in the country have meant that aid organizations have at times had to pay seven times what something is worth on the market. The country has one of the world’s highest inflation rates — it hit over 300% last month. One organization said it paid about $9,200 a month to rent a 4x4 vehicle.
The problem was the massive gap between the official and black market exchange rates. Over the past year, Sudan’s official exchange rate, set by the government, remained stable at 55 Sudanese Pounds per U.S. dollar, while the black-market exchange rate has risen exponentially. It recently surpassed 400 Sudanese pounds per U.S. dollar on the black market and has fluctuated wildly on a daily basis.
Humanitarian organizations must use the official exchange rate, meaning they paid exorbitantly high prices to implement programs, crippling their ability to reach more people.