CRS staff addressing the community in Hashaba village, West Darfur, Sudan.

Twenty years after the conflict between government security forces and armed movements erupted in Darfur and three years since the signing of the peace agreement, the region is fraught with conflict and other security incidents posing risks and threats to civilians. In Darfur, natural resource competition and conflict around farmer-herder interactions, which centre on access to water and land, regularly spiral into violence. Institutions lack the capacity and coordination mechanisms to address climate-and conflict-related risks, and community resilience to respond to climate change and conflict is low. These trends create food insecurity and hinder the capacity of the community to access livelihood opportunities that accelerate recovery and self-reliance.

Catholic Relief Services (CRS), with support from USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance and through a consortium of partners, implements the Recovery in Sudan for Improved Nutrition and Growth (RISING III) to address emergency food security needs, strengthen social cohesion, and build resilience for vulnerable communities in Darfur. CRS works to assist returnee and resident households in 59 communities across all five states of Darfur to transition from emergency assistance to longer-term recovery programs through disaster risk reduction, agriculture, nutrition, and livelihood activities. RISING III promotes interventions that builds sustainability of inputs, services and assets. The program focuses on capacity development to improve the socio-economic governance of the assets that are already developed. Targeting for natural resource management and governance activities, vulnerable communities are targeted for agriculture, health and nutrition activities through skills transfer, peacebuilding and inclusive natural resource management structures. Over 10,000 households have benefited from improved agriculture and food security activities.

Photo by Carlos Barrio/Catholic Relief Services