Coalition for Mutual Aid in Sudan

The brutal civil war that erupted in Sudan in April 2023 has evolved into the world’s largest hunger and displacement crisis.

Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed and many more injured. More than 12 million people have been forced from their homes, including 10 million still inside Sudan, struggling to survive with next to no food, clean water or medical services. Half of the displaced are children. Sudan’s infrastructure is in ruins and the health system is on the brink of collapse.

There was already severe food insecurity, economic and political instability and prolonged drought before the civil war started. With farming and food production halted, markets shut and supply routes cut off by violence, more than 25 million people, over half the population of Sudan, now face acute hunger.

Famine was confirmed in part of Darfur in July 2024 and looms in 13 other regions.

The international humanitarian response has been stifled by underfunding, insecurity and obstruction by the warring parties. International aid agencies have been denied access to civilians in dire need.

Networks of local mutual aid groups have sprung up in response. Despite extreme security risks and resource constraints, they have become lifelines to countless Sudanese people living through unimaginable violence and hardship.

Learn more about the Sudan Humanitarian Crisis.

The Coalition is a group of global funders and other partners committed to strengthening local humanitarian response in Sudan.

Announced during the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Conference in September 2024, the Coalition launched with financial contributions from nine donors:

• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• Center for Disaster Philanthropy
• Global Giving
• Global Fund for Women
• Humanity United
• Saphira Fund
• Urgent Action Fund – Africa
• Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
• Vitol Foundation

They will receive technical support from six key partners:

• ALNAP
• Centre for Humanitarian Leadership
• CORE
• Humanitarian Leadership Academy
• Saferworld
• Shabaka

The Coalition was initiated by the Strengthening Local Humanitarian Leadership Collaborative, which is coordinated by the Center for Disaster Philanthropy.

Mutual aid groups, sometimes called emergency response rooms or ERRs and include women’s groups, are informal institutions that tend to be unbureaucratic, democratized and decentralized. They are well-organized and work in an increasingly effective and coordinated manner with support from Localization Coordination Councils.

They have become lifelines to countless Sudanese living through unimaginable violence and hardship. Some examples of their work include:  

• Monitoring the frontline to evacuate families to safe places and bring the injured to makeshift clinics.
• Setting up emergency shelters, mobile kitchens, women’s collectives and learning centers
• Repairing water sources, vehicles, internet connections and electrical wires.
• Sourcing and delivering food, medicine, spare parts and other essentials.
• Caring for survivors of sexual assault and children separated from their families.
• Setting the foundation for peace dialogues and conflict resolution in communities across the country.

The volunteers are ordinary citizens: shopkeepers, teachers, technicians, health workers, drivers, traders, engineers, journalists, former civil servants and activists. Many come from youth, faith, elder and women’s groups as well as Sudanese staff from aid organizations.

Despite extreme security risks and resource constraints, these mutual aid groups are maximizing their impact with meager donations from community members, diaspora and increasingly national and international aid agencies.

The needs are colossal and overwhelming. Mutual aid groups in Sudan require an infusion of long-term support to scale up life-saving aid as the situation continues to deteriorate.

They are the only providers of last-mile assistance in much of Sudan now and for the foreseeable future.

Learn more about mutual aid groups in Sudan.

The Center for Disaster Philanthropy, which is coordinating the initiative, is working with partners on the ground to map emergency response rooms and other community groups, conduct due diligence and determine the best options for transferring funds.

CDP helps funders donate with confidence, steering grants to effective vetted proximate organizations that help marginalized communities in times of crisis. The catastrophe unfolding in Sudan is no different.

Given the complexities of funding flows, CDP is working with partners and Local Coordination Councils to ensure the safe delivery of grants through transfer services, hawala, digital cash and other pathways.

Yes! Contact CDP to learn more about participating in this bold coalition of donors committed to supporting life-saving efforts in Sudan.

You may also donate through the CDP Sudan Humanitarian Crisis Fund. Specify “Coalition for Mutual Aid in Sudan” in the designation option.

Thank you for supporting life-saving efforts in Sudan!

You may give through a variety of ways. Donors can support mutual aid groups directly with unrestricted grants that transfer decision-making power to local aid providers and specify flexible reporting requirements.

Recognizing this isn’t always possible, donors may also give to international organizations with close ties to mutual aid groups and through intermediaries such as CDP and our Sudan Humanitarian Crisis Fund. Specify “Mutual Aid in Sudan” in the designation option.

Contact us today if you would like to explore other ways to support or get involved in providing critical resources to mutual aid organizations in Sudan.