Coalition for Mutual Aid in Sudan

Summary

In 2024, the Coalition for Mutual Aid in Sudan committed to provide $6.5 million and technical resources to mutual aid groups in Sudan. The ongoing conflict in Sudan has resulted in one of the largest and overlooked humanitarian crises in the world, and Sudanese locally led approaches, including mutual aid groups and emergency response rooms, represent the most effective method of reaching those in need. While the humanitarian sector is slow to adapt to innovative funding models in access-constrained environments, locally led approaches and mutual aid groups demonstrate effective ways to quickly distribute resources and transfer decision-making power to local Sudanese groups. Over the next two years, the Coalition will disburse funds to locally led groups, generate evidence-based research to prove their efficacy, and prioritize support for historically marginalized groups. The Coalition will advocate for mutual aid as a critical pathway for donors across the aid ecosystem in Sudan and beyond.

Approach

The Sudan crisis presents an opportunity for global philanthropy to act in solidarity in support of mutual aid as an effective tool in humanitarian response. This commitment will shift power and resources to local Sudanese actors, generate evidence to demonstrate the efficacy of the local mutual aid movement, and influence broader donor funding practices and overall humanitarian response. Initiated by the Strengthening Local Humanitarian Leadership Philanthropic Collaborative, funders and other global partners are coming together in this commitment to form the Coalition for Mutual Aid in Sudan (the Coalition) .
This commitment recognizes that mutual aid groups are just one of several locally-led approaches that need support in the humanitarian toolkit, and investment in mutual aid groups will not alone solve the crisis. We equally advocate for greater flexible support to formal Sudanese NGOs, themselves under enormous pressure.
Over the next two years, this commitment will promote increased use and investment towards mutual aid groups in Sudan. It will prioritize aid groups that intentionally support the needs and rights of populations that have been historically marginalized because of tribal, religious and societal affiliation, gender, age and disability. Mutual aid groups, which include Emergency Response Rooms or (ERRs) , and Women Emergency Response Room (WERRs) to date, have been primarily self- and diaspora-funded via laterally-provided support and community-donated resources.
The Coalition activities will be implemented via two key methods: financial contributions and technical assistance.
Financial contributions will be provided by commitment partners including: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Center for Disaster Philanthropy, CORE, Global Fund for Women, Humanity United, Saphira Fund, Urgent Action Fund – Africa, Vitol Foundation, and Unitarian Universalist Service Committee.
In parallel, support for capacity building, technical support, leadership development, research and evaluation will be provided by partners including: ALNAP, Center for Humanitarian Leadership, Global Giving, Humanitarian Leadership Academy and Shabaka.

Action Plan

Over the next two years, the Coalition will lead a two-part commitment to support the Sudan humanitarian crisis.
From September 2024 until 2026, the Coalition commits to Part I: Funding Contribution
The Coalition will provide $6.5 million to Sudanese mutual aid groups. By December 2024, the Coalition will distribute at least $2 million of the $6.5 million.
Financial contributions from the partners listed above will direct funding to mutual aid groups including ERRs, via eligible intermediaries of their choosing, fully delegating decision-making over spending priorities to them. This modality empowers mutual aid groups to make decisions, and also includes accountability frameworks with flexible reporting requirements.
In parallel, from 2025 until December 2026, the Coalition commits to Part II: Capacity-strengthening, Learning, Evaluation, Research and Advocacy.
The Coalition brings together leading global industry experts and under the LHL’s umbrella stewardship commits the technical resources to support, strengthen and demonstrate the viability of mutual-aid models in Sudan. Over the course of two years, this commitment will build a more rigorous evidence-base and use this to advocate and influence donor and practitioner priorities, policies and practices. Reports, case studies and other knowledge products derived from the learning and research agenda, within the larger movement of survivor and community led response globally, will be amplified through select channels and fora to reach philanthropic, bilateral and multilateral donors and policy makers as well as operational agencies and networks in the humanitarian system. Part II will also demonstrate the viability, efficacy and impact of Sudan’s locally led mutual aid and relief response model as a key approach to faster and more sustainable recovery. This commitment includes esteemed research and evaluation partners, capacity strengthening and leadership development experts, and equity and inclusion champions, all sharing a common vision for greater localized and decolonized aid models in all responses globally. This portion will provide assurance as to how mutual aid groups offer a sustainable, trusted and long-term viable solution to reach underserved communities in Sudan and beyond.
Investments made now by the Coalition will strengthen the local infrastructure to continue to support this nexus-wide coalition of actors into the recovery, peacebuilding and development of communities living in a just, free, democratic society in Sudan.

Background

A year into the conflict in Sudan, and with the recent famine declaration in North Darfur, the pace of response is falling woefully short of the needs. Over 25 million people are in need of assistance, 10 million of them displaced from their homes, and the threat of widespread famine is imminent. Sudan is one of the largest, overlooked humanitarian crises in the world. Where international organizations would typically mobilize a sizable, comprehensive response, the ongoing insecurity, access, and regulatory barriers stifled these efforts in Sudan.
In its place, a network of agile, decentralized, and hyper-local mutual aid groups have organically emerged. Many locally-led NGOs as well as mutual aid groups, which include Emergency Response Rooms or (ERRs) , and Women Emergency Response Rooms (WERRs) are providing humanitarian aid and many other forms of assistance and services that straddle the humanitarian-development and peacebuilding nexus in new and creative ways. These mutual aid groups operate somewhat independently, but in a coordinated fashion and are the main mechanism for reaching millions of people in need in Sudan.
Mutual aid groups are currently the most viable, logical and effective vehicles, combining to form a patchwork national network, to scale up life-saving aid as the situation continues to deteriorate. In Sudan, moving money and resources at scale is proving impossible, partly due to security challenges and insufficient funding, but primarily due to strict donor compliance requirements and bureaucratic impediments, attitudes to risk, the unfamiliarity and lack of consensus on the most “appropriate” intermediary pathways to these groups.
Philanthropy has a crucial role to play in piloting, testing, proofing and documenting the viability and efficacy of the scaling pathways for donors to reach mutual aid groups while obtaining assurances that risks are being managed adequately

Progress Update

Partnership Opportunities

The Coalition for Mutual Aid in Sudan aims to mobilize and garner additional partner support, bring in new foundations and funders to this cause, and seeks wide-ranging media support and expertise to both mobilize more resources to the initiative and to educate, promote and build trust in localized aid models in Sudan., The Coalition for Mutual Aid in Sudan is offering funding to local groups for the response activities and using their power, privilege and influence to mobilize other funders to do the same. Members of the group are also offering their technical expertise in philanthropy, humanitarian response and recovery, peacebuilding, human rights, capacity strengthening, equitable and inclusive programming, and research, evaluation and advocacy to capture and document evidence that can be used to advocate for greater impact through local aid models in Sudan and globally.