Tough Choices in Darfur: Meeting Immediate Needs

This is the first of three pieces looking at some of the challenges facing aid agencies expelled from Darfur, as well as those still operational in the region. Part 2 is here, and Part 3 is here.

These are excerpted from a longer article I wrote - Tough choices for agencies expelled from Darfur - which just went up on the Humanitarian Practice Network.

On 4 March, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Bashir, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Over the next few days, Sudanese authorities expelled or disbanded sixteen humanitarian agencies working in Darfur.

The expulsions had an immediate impact on aid operations in Darfur. The affected agencies had supplied health services to 1.5 million people, water and sanitation for 1.16 million and food assistance to 1.1 million. In particular, the Sudanese government’s action has created three inter-related challenges: how to cover immediate humanitarian needs in Darfur; how to balance the humanitarian need to alleviate suffering with the need to preserve and maintain humanitarian space; and how to respond to needs in the east and in the Transitional Areas.

Dilemma #1 - How Do You Meet Immediate Needs?

In late March, the UN – working with the Sudanese government – completed an assessment of the humanitarian situation in Darfur. Although the government insisted that it could provide all essential services in conjunction with Sudanese NGOs, the assessment found that critical gaps remained. According to UN Under-Secretary-General John Holmes, the government’s actions amounted to ‘band aid solutions, not long term solutions’.

The UN and other aid agencies have been able to ward off a Darfur-wide catastrophe so far, though the situation in some camps has deteriorated dramatically. UN agencies have made it clear that they lack the capacity to continue providing the necessary assistance, unless they can identify new implementing partners.

This is easier said than done. First, the Sudanese government confiscated computers, files and other essential supplies when it expelled and disbanded the aid agencies, resulting in the loss of key information. This makes it exceedingly difficult to hand over operations. Furthermore, although 72 international NGOs remain in Darfur, there are a number of challenges facing any agency seeking to scale up its operations, not least bureaucratic impediments imposed by the government.

These obstacles affect many aspects of aid work, from visas to national staff recruitment and customs clearances. Sudanese national security personnel have also blocked efforts by remaining NGOs to expand their programmes. Meanwhile, other agencies are reluctant to fill the gaps left by the expulsions out of concern that doing so would make all agencies seem easily replaceable.

There is also a shortage of local organizations with the necessary capacity, especially after the Sudanese government disbanded two of the largest Sudanese NGOs working in Darfur. Although many of the expelled agencies worked with and through IDP or community committees – for instance to oversee day-to-day water and sanitation activities – few of these committees have the capacity to continue operations, even if sufficient supplies are delivered.

The real concern is what happens over the next few months, as existing supplies dwindle, the rains start and the hungry season begins.

For more information on the current humanitarian situation, see here.

[Girls in Zam Zam Camp, Darfur - Photo from the UN]