Costing methodology
The 2025 response plan uses a unit-based costing methodology in estimating the financial requirements (US$4.16 billion) to meet the needs of 20.9 million people. This approach enhances accuracy and transparency by directly linking costs to specific activities or units. This method allows for more precise budgeting, aligns resources with prioritized needs, and improves accountability, ensuring that funding is effectively allocated to achieve targeted humanitarian outcomes.
Changes in the cost of operating
Several key factors drive the cost of humanitarian operations in Sudan:
- Scale of the crisis: As one of the largest and worst humanitarian crises in the world, millions of people require assistance, demanding substantial resources to provide the required assistance and services.
- Complexity and volatility: The multifaceted nature of the crisis, with multiple underlying causes, complicates the delivery of effective and efficient humanitarian assistance. The unpredictable security situation further hampers operations, often requiring additional resources to mitigate risks for humanitarian workers.
- Logistical challenges: Poor infrastructure and limited access to many areas significantly raise the costs of transporting supplies and personnel to where they are most needed.
- Inflation: The high cost of basic goods and services in Sudan, driven by inflation, significantly increase the overall operational expenses.
Under the guidance of the global clusters, the clusters in Sudan have conducted different consultations in a country-wide survey to gather estimated unit costs for each activity from core partners, average cost per indicators, estimated costs based on the previous years’ cost per activity, among other methodologies. Costs were adjusted to account for inflation and the varying costs across localities, using an average to ensure all partner inputs were represented.