The United Nations and its partners have issued a $983.4 million consolidated appeal to fund their response to anticipated humanitarian needs in Sudan in 2013.
The funds will be used for 364 projects designed to provide humanitarian assistance to 4.33 million people in Sudan, particularly in Darfur and South Kordofan. These projects cover planned activities of 130 U.N. agencies, international aid groups and national nongovernmental organizations.
The financial appeal, anticipated needs and plans of action of these organizations are outlined in a work plan released Nov. 27 by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The plan identifies three strategic priorities: continue timely and effective humanitarian response, develop and facilitate durable solutions, and build local capacity. The plan also emphasizes the importance of monitoring and evaluation activities.
According to the work plan, $787 million of the total appeal is urgently needed to keep aid programs in Sudan running. The rest of the sum is for medium-priority projects.
Geographically, the plan’s top priority is South Darfur, for which the United Nations and its partners are seeking $183.7 million. The plan, meanwhile, seeks $179.3 million for West Darfur programs and $112.1 million for aid efforts in South Kordofan.
Sectorwise, more than 41 percent of the appeal ($407.4 million) is for food security and livelihood programs. The response for this sector is to be led by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Program. It covers 74 projects for more than 5 million beneficiaries, which include refugees, returnees, internally displaced people and nomads.
The appeal for the refugee sector is 9.4 percent of the total at $91.1 million for 13 projects, mostly in the state of Kassala and other provinces along Sudan’s border with Eritrea and Ethiopia. The appeal for the education sector, meanwhile, accounts for 8.6 percent or $84.8 million of the total budget sought.
This consolidated appeal for 2013 is slightly lower than the $1 billion appeal for 2012, of which 53.6 percent or $563 million has so far been funded, according to the latest data from OCHA’s Financial Tracking Service.
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