Saphira Fund Supports Localized Aid Models in Sudan
Summary
In 2024, the Saphira Fund committed to give $25,000 toward the Strengthening Local Humanitarian Leadership Philanthropic Collaborative (LHL) . This initiative is committed to form a coalition and contribute $6.5 million to support locally led aid in Sudan, including mutual aid groups. The ongoing conflict in Sudan has resulted in one of the largest, overlooked humanitarian crises in the world. Sudanese locally led approaches, mutual aid, and emergency response rooms have become the quickest and most effective method to reach those in need. The existing humanitarian aid sector is slow to adapt to innovative funding models in access-constrained environments, yet localized approaches and mutual aid groups demonstrate an effective method to quickly distribute resources and transfer decision-making power to local groups. This coalition will advocate for locally led approaches and mutual aid groups as critical pathways for donors across the aid ecosystem in Sudan and beyond.
Approach
The Saphira Fund will contribute $25,000 of funding to Center for Disaster Philanthropy’s (CDP’s) “Call to Action for Sudan” Fund by the end of 2024, an easy and low-cost intelligent intermediary vehicle that supports the joint Commitment to Action. Contributions are intended to be unrestricted community grants, with funders transferring agency to emergency response rooms (ERRs) /localization coordination councils (LCCs) and other local groups to decide priorities and how funds are allocated and spent.
ERRs/LCCs will provide documentation of the process, flow of resources and risk management controls governing the fund allocation, management and oversight, and an appropriate account of how funds were used including the activities/outcomes/reach after funds have been spent.
Funders (CDP and Saphira) commit to remaining flexible and accept reports in standardized formats agreed with and provided by local actors
The Saphira Fund will share and promote case studies, impact stories and/or education and advocacy materials to educate philanthropy and mobilize further funding.
CDP, as an established 501c3 and intelligent intermediary, will accept, pool and manage the transfer of funding tranches (along with its own contributions) for a subsidized, low-cost fee of 5% for LHL and other funders who wish to contribute to Sudan’s locally-led ERR crisis response efforts and who wish to rely on CDP’s fund management expertise, streamlined due diligence and flexible reporting requirements.
Action Plan
Background
Over a year into the conflict in Sudan, the pace of response is falling woefully short of the needs. Over 25 million people need humanitarian assistance, almost 10 million of them displaced from their homes, and the threat of famine is imminent. Women and children constitute the majority of refugees. Where international organizations would typically mobilize a sizable, comprehensive response, the ongoing security, access, regulatory and donor risk-aversion barriers stifle and, in some cases, prevent traditional aid efforts from functioning in Sudan.
In its place, informal networks of agile, decentralized, and hyper-local mutual-aid groups, called “Emergency Response Rooms” (ERRs) , have self-organized and are providing support to their communities, many of whom are human rights and peacebuilding activists straddling the humanitarian-development and peacebuilding nexus. To date ERRs have been primarily self-funded and have received external resources from Sudanese diaspora groups via remittances, with a relatively small amount of funding from traditional international donors. However, ERRs and coordinating Localization Coordination Councils (LCCs) are the main mechanism for providing lifesaving support to millions of people in need in Sudan. They are the most viable, logical and effective vehicles to scale up as the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate rapidly towards catastrophe.
The Saphira Fund is committed to engaging in trauma-informed, trust-based philanthropy which centers the expertise of proximate actors such as ERRs. Sudanese mutual aid efforts are building trust, legitimacy and seeking to prevent further damage to the torn social fabric in Sudan. They are empowering communities, not creating the dependence that traditional aid often generates.