The NCA Sudan programme was led from 2005 until South Sudan's independence on July 9th 2011, by our Resident Representative in Khartoum.
You can read about our South Sudan programme here.
Sudan won its independence from Britain and Egypt in 1956. The year before, a rebellion had started in the south of the country. The fighting continued until 1972, when the parties signed a peace treaty. The agreement, however, never managed to resolve fundamental disagreements, and the fighting resumed in 1983. About two million people lost their lives over the following two decades. In 2005, a new peace agreement, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed. This agreement gave South Sudan autonomy for a period of six years. In January 2011, a referendum was held in South Sudan, in which an overwhelming majority voted that South Sudan should, during 2011, secede and it become an independent state on July 9th 2011.
Sudan is one of the largest oil exporters in Africa, and the sale of crude oil is its chief foreign exchange earner. The oil fields are mainly located in South Sudan, but the refineries and pipelines carrying the oil to the Red Sea pass through North Sudan. 80% of the population are employed in agriculture. Sudan exports agricultural products such as cotton, grain, livestock and fruit.
Our work
Norwegian Church Aid is committed to working together with civil society organisations and faith communities and will continue to strengthen and develop the capacity of civil society in Sudan in the future.
NCA’s strategy for Sudan for the period of 2011-2015 foresees a shift from primarily being operational in many areas towards adopting a role as facilitator and accompanier. NCA’s strategy for strengthening civil society focuses on three areas:
- Mobilising communities to take active part in development
- Building alliances and networks
- Mutual capacity development.
Norwegian Church Aid’s principles for partnership are based on respect for the autonomy of the partner, equality, transparency, accountability, responsibility and trust.
The integrated approach:
Norwegian Church Aid in Sudan has three main working methods: Long-term development work, emergency preparedness and response, and advocacy. These are implemented as an integrated approach.
Commitment to mainstreaming development principles:
Norwegian Church Aid has a commitment to implement programmes in line with the Do No Harm principles, in a gender sensitive manner and to be compliant to HAP (Humanitarian Accountability Partnership) standards.
What we do:
Norwegian Church Aid has prioritised the following global programme areas to work with in Sudan:
Women and Peace-building: women and girls participate at all levels in NCA-supported peace-building activities
Faith Communities and peace-building: we support partners’ and faith communities’ active participation to change local contexts and promote peace
Gender and Female Genital Mutilation: men and women are mobilised to actively address harmful traditional practices which encourage gender-based violence
Livelihood and trade: we mobilise communities to achieve a sustainable livelihood and reduce the vulnerability of poor and marginalised communities
Access to primary health care: improved access to quality health care for poor and marginalised communities
Water, sanitation and hygiene: we work to improve access to water and sanitation, enabling a good environment for improved hygiene for poor and marginalised communities
Emergency preparedness and response: contribute to providing timely and appropriate life-saving support to populations affected by conflict and natural disasters
Education: we work to improve access to education
Currently, Norwegian Church Aid works in South and West Darfur, South Kordofan and Khartoum State. We are exploring the possibilities to expand into new states (North Kordofan and White Nile) in 2012.
Darfur
There is conflict between in the western region of Darfur and the northeast of the country between rebel groups and the government in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. According to the UN, up to 300,000 people have lost their lives in Darfur since the conflict broke out in 2003. 2.7 million people have been forced to flee their homes.
The NCA Darfur Programme supported by ACT and Caritas is a unique ecumenical cooperation between the two main global church networks, ACT Alliance and Caritas Internationalis. The programme was established in 2004 as a joint response to the crises in Darfur. The three implementing partners in the programme are Norwegian Church Aid, Sudan Council of Churches and Sudan Aid. The programme provides humanitarian support to roughly 380,000 people in South and West Darfur.
Staff and budgets:
NCA has currently approximately 400 national staff and 20 international staff in Sudan. The revenue in 2010 was approximately USD 14,000,000.
Coordination through the ACT Alliance
Norwegian Church Aid participates actively in ACT Alliance activities in Sudan. The Sudan ACT Forum meets regularly in order to develop joint emergency appeals and emergency plans.