The U.S. Agency for International Development is moving ahead with financial support for civil society organizations in Sudan after the U.S. government froze aid to the country following the military takeover in October.
Congress appropriated funding in 2020 to support the country’s democratic transition, which began following demonstrations that led to the 2019 overthrow of then-President Omar al-Bashir. But when the military took over in 2021 — with crackdowns on pro-democracy protesters killing dozens in the months since — those funds were frozen.
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After reviewing its support, USAID this year will program some of the $700 million in spending that Congress previously approved for the country, but the agency will do so in a way that bypasses the military, said Isobel Coleman, USAID’s deputy administrator for policy and programming, during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing Tuesday.
The agency will program $108 million, with most aiming to support the growth of civil society organizations across the country. USAID will provide training and civics education “to better strengthen and prepare them for this eventual transition,” Coleman said.
USAID is also funding transportation for local groups to the capital of Khartoum so they can be involved in ongoing dialogue, including through the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan.
Other funding will support human rights work. This includes ensuring that violations are documented, bolstering independent media, and supporting health needs and agriculture-related livelihoods programs.
USAID also continues to provide humanitarian assistance in the country, contributing around $430 million in fiscal years 2021 and 2022 so far.
The agency plans to examine how it can use the remaining money efficiently and productively without working with the Sudanese government, Coleman said.
A freeze on any funding to the government remains in place. The U.S. is also continuing efforts to get the military to return to democratization efforts. It is pushing allies to put pressure on the military officials, has used its influence to get the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to put funding on hold, and is pursuing other diplomatic efforts to help restart the democratization process, said Mary Catherine Phee, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs at the U.S. State Department, during the hearing.
About the author
Adva Saldinger@AdvaSal
Adva Saldinger is a Senior Reporter at Devex where she covers development finance, as well as U.S. foreign aid policy. Adva explores the role the private sector and private capital play in development and authors the weekly Devex Invested newsletter bringing the latest news on the role of business and finance in addressing global challenges. A journalist with more than 10 years of experience, she has worked at several newspapers in the U.S. and lived in both Ghana and South Africa.
