Sudan

Summary of Needs

The ongoing armed conflict in Sudan has deeply disrupted the country's economy and livelihoods. Damage to key infrastructure, including financial service providers and communication networks, has crippled banking services, supply chains, and overall market functionality. Inflation is increasing, and the Sudanese Pound (SDG) has depreciated sharply, worsening economic hardship for millions. The resulting lack of liquidity and dwindling purchasing power have made it difficult for people to access services and exacerbated coping capacities, further increasing the population's vulnerability. Trade dynamics have also shifted, with Sudan now relying on imports from neighbouring countries to which it once exported, creating additional strain on the already fragile market systems.

Despite these immense challenges, markets in Sudan remain active, and cash and voucher assistance (CVA) has proven to be a viable tool to address the humanitarian needs of affected women, men, girls and boys. In particular women and girls in Sudan face heightened risks due to conflict, displacement, and economic instability, including GBV and limited access to essential services and female-headed households often encounter additional barriers to assistance. Humanitarian actors have found innovative ways to deliver CVA despite access constraints and liquidity challenges, as it provides the flexibility needed to respond to demand-driven needs. According to the 2024 Multi-Sectoral Needs Assessment (MSNA), 67 per cent of the surveyed population expressed a preference for CVA over in-kind assistance, highlighting its effectiveness in helping people meet their basic needs. In a context where access to in-kind assistance is constrained, CVA stands as a viable modality to avert famine and stabilize the livelihoods of those caught in the conflict.

Response Strategy

Humanitarian cash interventions in Sudan have evolved significantly over the years, primarily in response to protracted conflict, displacement, and economic instability. With in-kind assistance facing access constraints and bureaucratic impediments, CVA in Sudan has emerged as a vital and flexible form of assistance where market conditions exist, empowering recipients to address a broad range of essential needs, including food, shelter, access to healthcare, protection and education. Despite the difficult operational environment caused by conflict and economic instability, CVA is preferred by most Sudanese households due to the flexibility it offers, allowing them to prioritize according to their unique circumstances. However, high inflation, economic volatility and protection risks in Sudan pose significant challenges, necessitating regular market and inflation monitoring, adjustment of transfer values and thorough protection risk assessments to ensure that the assistance remains effective, meets people's needs and does no harm.

Multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA) is an unrestricted form of CVA designed to help vulnerable households meet their basic needs with maximum flexibility and dignity. The endorsed transfer value (TV) as of 1 September 2024 for MPCA is 280,000 SDG per household per month for a duration of three months. The TV is determined using the median Minimum Expenditure Basket (MEB) of Sudan and is regulated by market prices using the Joint Market Monitoring Initiative (JMMI). The MEB consists of the minimum commodities required for a household of six to meet their most basic needs for a month. The transfer amount aims to cover 70 per cent of household needs, ensuring that funding limitations are accounted for, while addressing inflationary pressures. Based on monthly market monitoring, TV is subject to revision in the instance of an increase in the median TV of 15 per cent or higher.

MPCA will prioritize female-headed households and ensure safe, accessible delivery mechanisms, such as discreet distribution points and flexible collection times. In addition, the protection services will be integrated through strong referral pathways for GBV survivors. Additionally, women and girls will actively participate in program design and feedback processes to address their needs. Monitoring will track disaggregated data to ensure accountability and effectiveness. This approach aims to empower women and girls, enhance their safety, and promote dignity and resilience by ensuring their participation in household decision-making processes and addressing their specific needs through MPCA.

Targeting and Prioritization

In 2025, an estimated $201.8 million is required to reach 1.8 million vulnerable people across Sudan in the form of MPCA and Group Cash Transfers (GCTs), representing a 60 per cent increase from anticipated 2024 MPCA distributions. Cash implementing partners will target inter-sectoral Severity 4 and 5 localities in areas where the Food Security and Livelihood Cluster (FSL) will not cover, integrating data from the MSNA and market functionality (JMMI). Regular MPCA will be disbursed monthly over a period of three months, with the possibility of extension based on needs assessments and funding availability. In cases of sudden emergencies, or newly displaced households, a one-off transfer of the regular MPCA monthly amount will be provided to meet immediate needs. MPCA and group cash transfers (GCTs) will be underpinned by a robust risk protection analysis to ensure risks accessing, receiving and using cash are adequately mitigated. Further, the Sudan Cash Working Group (CWG) will pay particular attention in 2025 to strengthening referral pathways to ensure at risk individuals receive assistance in a timely and accountable manner.

Given the extreme access challenges in Sudan, GCTs are an outstanding instrument to funnel flexible financial support to first responders ensuring assistance reaches the most in need, hard-to-reach areas and address acute humanitarian needs. It offers a strong mechanism to ensure that humanitarian efforts leverage all available options to reach vulnerable populations, particularly in famine and famine-prone areas. By aligning with the cash modality’s unrestricted nature, GCTs reflect and support primary needs of communities.

It is also linked to social protection efforts through UNICEF’s Cash Programme, which adopts a multi-sectoral approach, coordinated through the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Social Affairs as a social safety net linked to critical life-saving services. The programme integrates behaviour change, communication, supplementary feeding, health services, and social worker support to ensure sustainable outcomes from cash transfer activities. It covers 1,000 days of a child's life, emphasizing coverage, sustainability, and service access in consultation with the government. In 2025, some 150,000 households will receive $30 per month per household for 12 months under this programme with an overall funding requirement of $100 million¹.

Cash Coordination

The Sudan CWG is the coordination body for MPCA, while sectoral cash and voucher assistance is coordinated by the respective clusters with the CWG providing technical and coordination support. The CWG will support reporting on both MPCA and sectoral cash. The CWG and FSL Cluster have guidance in place to prevent overlap activities. To tackle technical challenges related to CVA implementation, the CWG leads technical working groups on MEB and TV, Financial Service Provider and Liquidity, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning, and Cash Group Transfers.

Monitoring

As part of the HNRP 2025 monitoring framework, specific indicators will be used to measure the effectiveness and impact of MPCA:

• Number of households receiving MPCA,
• Percentage of households reporting that MPCA helped them access basic needs,
• Total amount of MPCA delivered,
• Per cent of recipients (disaggregated by sex, age, and disability) reporting humanitarian assistance was delivered in a safe, accessible, accountable, and participatory manner.

Additional indicators such as timeliness of MPCA disbursement, adequacy of transfer value, and impact on food consumption and coping strategies will be monitored by agencies delivering MPCA.