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DFID Sudan
off Sharia al-Baladia, P.O. Box 801, Khartoum
Tel: +249 183 741 760 | Fax: +249 183 742 949
Map courtesy of the FCO
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Sudan
Related pages: Darfur |
Southern Sudan |
UK Development Assistance |
Quick facts
News and events
April 13 2008 was the Global Day for Darfur. Prime Minister Gordon Brown
marked the day by pledging to work with the United Nations and the African Union
to end the suffering of the region's people. 
Read
Gordon Brown's statement on the No10 website
Overview
Years of war have meant that many people in Sudan are chronically poor.
Sudan is not likely to achieve any of the MDGs and in many regions of the
country, particularly the South and parts of the East, social development
indicators are some of the lowest in Africa.
In Darfur, the current crisis has
required a huge and ongoing response from the international community and DFID
has been the second largest bilateral donor in Darfur since 2003.
DFID's Assistance in Sudan
In the past five
years DFID has provided $667 million in aid to Sudan, out of a total of $2201m from the
international community. In the coming financial year DFID plans to give $210 million.
However, aid flows provide a very small proportion of GDP in Sudan (less than
1%). Our aid is therefore targeted at responding to extreme need where the
Government is not targeting resources (for example in Darfur) or where the
Government is too weak to do so (in the South). The small proportion of our aid
that is spent through the Government of National Unity is focused on ensuring
effective implementation of the peace agreements and to encourage the Government
to spend more of its resources on poverty reduction. In the South of the
country, we are providing more direct support through the Government of South
Sudan including capacity building for delivery of basic services.
Our objectives are:
- Ensuring that life saving and life sustaining
humanitarian, recovery and reintegration needs are being met;
- Helping build consensus for peace, encourage implementation of the two Peace Agreements
(including political/military aspects), and promote more effective governance
and public administration, security and judicial systems throughout Sudan
- Encouraging the Government of Sudan to put greater emphasis on sustainable
poverty reduction, and to allocate more resources through the budget for the
achievement of this.
More information on UK assistance in Sudan
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Darfur
Despite the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) by the Government of
Sudan and one faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) on 5 May 2006,
conflict in Darfur continues. It is largely a local struggle for resources,
land, water and grazing rights and the related attempts to win power within the
indigenous tribal administration structure. It is also an attempt to wrest more
government finance to the peripheral western part of this huge country: it is no
coincidence that the conflict worsened while another peripheral region – the
south – was negotiating a peace agreement with the central government (see
section on Southern Sudan below).
Read more
on the situation in Darfur
Darfur Peace Agreement
The African Union (AU)-brokered Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) was signed on 5
May 2006 between the Government of Sudan and the Minni Minawi faction of the SLM.
The DPA gives the rebels a say in government at the national and regional
levels, and provides for a substantial reconstruction package. It also requires
the Government of Sudan to show good faith in the Agreement, particularly by
disarming the Janjaweed Arab militias.
But implementation has been slow, held back by the refusal of other rebel
factions to sign it. The UK welcomes the renewed political process under the
AU/UN. We are urging all parties to engage fully with the process. Failure to do
so would fail the millions of civilians who are suffering the consequences of
the conflict in Darfur.
Read more on the situation in Darfur
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Southern Sudan
Since the early 1990s there have been a number of unsuccessful attempts to
find a peaceful resolution to the civil war in Southern Sudan.
However, in 2002 war-weariness and international pressure finally bought the
Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) to
the negotiating table. The peace talks, held under the auspices of the
Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Kenya, culminated in the
signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) on 9 January 2005.
Read more on the situation in Southern Sudan
Eastern Sudan
Eastern Sudan has suffered from years of marginalisation and neglect. As
such, it is one of the least developed areas in Sudan. In response to this
marginalisation a number of rebel groups, formed mainly from the Beja and
Rasha’ida tribes (the most populous in the area), have in recent years carried
out attacks on government targets. Although isolated and small scale, these
skirmishes had the potential to erupt into a larger-scale conflict.
In order to avoid such an escalation, in August 2006, the Government of
Eritrea convened negotiations between the Eastern rebels, known as the Eastern
Front (EF), and the Government of Sudan. A peace deal (the Eastern Sudan Peace
Agreement, or ESPA) was signed in the capital of Eritrea, Asmara, on 14 October
2006, guaranteeing greater development for Eastern Sudan. The UK government
welcomed the stability brought to Eastern Sudan with the ESPA and urged both
sides to speed up implementation to ensure lasting peace and security in the
region.
The State of Emergency in Eastern Sudan has been lifted and the cease-fire
holds. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is working closely with
the Government of Sudan on the disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration of
EF troops. The UK provides funding to the National Multi Donor Trust Fund for
Sudan, which supports development activities in Eastern Sudan. The UK has also
committed £6.5 million in bilateral funds to support ESPA implementation.
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Links
Last updated: 18 April 2008
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