Local Solutions for Sudan’s Humanitarian and Human Rights Crisis

Since April 2023, the conflict in Sudan has displaced approximately 12 million individuals both internally and externally, generating an unprecedented humanitarian crisis with 25 million people in need of assistance and protection. This crisis is characterized by acute food insecurity, outbreaks of cholera, dengue, malaria and other diseases, and widespread gender-based violence. Additionally, disruptions to essential services, including healthcare, clean water, and electricity, have disrupted the public health system and closed roughly 80% of hospitals in affected areas, depriving millions of people of critical medical care.
Our Columbia University Program on Forced Migration and Health’s December 3, 2024, webinar, Humanitarian and Human Rights Crisis: Sudan, centers on the importance of community, local and regional lead organizations and repose, and the rich tradition of Sudan’s volunteer-led mutual aid groups like Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs). The session moderated by Dr. Rachel T. Moresky, Interim Director, Columbia University Program on Forced Migration and Health, featured three speakers: 1. Professor Jehanne Henry, lecturer at Columbia Law School and Former Director of Human Rights Watch’s Africa, who gave an overview of Sudan's geopolitical and human rights crisis and the ineffective international response. 2. Dr. Haitham Bashier Abbas, Director of the Public Health Emergency Management Center at the Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET), discussed the public health system crisis, interrupted surveillance systems, and EMPHNET’s community-based initiatives to mitigate vector-borne outbreaks. 3. Dr. Hiba Ahmed Khalil Badr, Director of the Emergency and Humanitarian Interventions Directorate (EmHID) at the Sudan Family Planning Association (SFPA), articulated how the Sudan Family Planning Association (SFPA) most effectively supports women in Sudan, particularly in terms of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and combating gender-based violence (GBV)