THE RAPID RESPONSE FUND The INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MIGRATION IN SUDAN

A THREE YEAR summary (2013—2016)

Photo courtesy of Nada Elazhar for Disaster Prevention and Sustainable Development

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The Rapid Response Fund (RRF) is a unique USAID/OFDA emergency funding mechanism, which provides grants to National and International NGOs for critical, life-saving activities in the immediate aftermath of a natural or man-made disaster. IOM established the Rapid Response Fund (RRF) in September 2013, which funds six humanitarian sectors: Non-Food Items; Humanitarian Coordination and Information Management; Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH); Health; Protection; Shelter and Settlement. The geographical areas of coverage are Abyei, Blue Nile, Darfur, South and West Kordofan states in Sudan.

The RRF is unique in Sudan, being one of the fastest grant mechanisms to be activated. It provides a streamlined, supportive and flexible grant application and disbursement process that is accessible to National and International NGOs. It remains one of the few funding mechanisms that is accessible to National NGOs that are often excluded from other funding streams. With the recognition that rapid, emergency response does not always have to be assumed through direct implementation, IOM works with national and international implementing

partners. This allows for first phase emergency, life-saving activities to commence rapidly, whilst other funding mechanisms are being planned, prepared and processed. Through these strategic, well-positioned partnerships, IOM ensures that life-saving assistance reaches the most vulnerable and often under-served populations in a timely manner.

Knowing that well-coordinated responses prevent duplication and the wastage of resources, the RRF also builds strong relationships and engagement at the cluster level, ensuring that funded projects are in line with cluster priorities and standards. In addition, IOM Sudan is the ideal host for the RRF, because it has a strong, country-wide operational presence as well as technical expertise in the key humanitarian sectors such as WASH, ES/NFI and Emergency Health. In addition, IOM Sudan is the single agency mandated to collect and disseminate data on IDPs and returnees through its ’Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM)’ tool. This means that the RRF is able to benefit from a multitude of internal, IOM resources from the proposal review stage through to the implementation and evaluation stages.

1 An IDP settlement in Um Baru, North Darfur, April 2015. Photo courtesy of Cooperazione Internazionale COOPI.

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Life-saving support to newly displaced or affected populations has

been the emphasis of the RRF since its inception in 2013. As it is often the first funding mechanism to reach a newly displaced population, it focuses on the most critical gaps and needs through provision of life-saving services. The single, most critical service is generally the provision of clean water and sanitation facilities. Applications to the RRF are therefore most often related to the WASH sector.

Between September 2013 and September 2016, the RRF has funded eight Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) projects to a total amount of US1,171,714$. The funding reached approximately 361,000 individuals across South Kordofan and two states of Darfur. Many different types of WASH activities have been supported– examples of physical infrastructure are installation of emergency water systems, water chlorination, rehabilitation and protection of wells, installation of latrines, soap

distribution and installation of mini water yards. All projects also complement the physical infrastructure activities with education and emphasis on behavior change, such as hygiene promotion.

All projects involve communities directly and build their capacities in order to promote sustainable actions. Volunteers from the same beneficiary groups are always selected and trained to promote healthy hygiene practices amongst their communities. This ensures that the knowledge remains in the community. The RRF also supports the training of community hand pump mechanics to maintain the infrastructure installed. Water committees are also set up, and trained where appropriate, to manage and support the maintenance and good working order of the infrastructure provided through the project. All the activities are also implemented in coordination with the GoS Water, Environment and Sanitation Agency (WES) as well as other relevant stakeholders.

IDPs in North Darfur receive clean water through an RRF-funded WASH project. In 2016. Photo courtesy of PLAN International- Sudan.

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Community member helps in rehabilitating a well in Um Duhkun locality, Central Darfur where 10 such water points were rehabilitated/constructed in 2015 to provide water to 29,600 displaced individuals. Photo courtesy of Triangle Generation Humanitaire (TGH)

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Displaced communities usually do not have any resources to

purify water and often drink from any available water source, even if it is unsafe, such as direct from wadis (small rivers). Furthermore, when large numbers of people are displaced to a particular location, water quantity can also be insufficient to cover the whole population, putting a strain on the existing water sources, which may have already been insufficient for the existing (host) community. Sanitation is also found to be one of the common WASH gaps, as existing latrines (if available) are not sufficient to meet the needs of the newly displaced community. Water-borne diseases are therefore a big risk, most seriously affecting children under the age of 5 years.

The RRF aims at comprehensively meeting all these related WASH needs by providing these vulnerable populations with clean, safe water in quantities that are adequate for their daily needs. In addition, projects most often include the construction of emergency latrines.

Photos courtesy of Cooperazione Internazionale (COOPI), Mercy Corps Scotland (MCS) and Triangle Generation Humanitaire (TGH)

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Children go to collect water thanks to an RRF WASH project in Central Darfur. Since 2013, the RRF has directly and indirectly assisted over 344,602 children. Photo courtesy of Triangle Generation Humanitaire (TGH)

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Gender mainstreaming in all RRF projects is an imperative since

projects target the most vulnerable members of a target population. This means that all projects actively work to ensure that the different needs of women and girls, men and boys are considered at the planning stages and all the way through to implementation. In particular, households that are headed by single parents (which are almost always women amongst IDP populations) remains the top criteria for beneficiary selection by RRF grantees. Due to cultural reasons as well as the nature of conflict and displacement in Sudan, the number of single parent households is often higher than in a general population. This could be due to men marrying several times and being unable to support the many families, sometimes abandoning them or men being injured or killed during conflict and also men who leave their families for extended periods to farm their lands in insecure locations. Women therefore most commonly bear the brunt of sustaining their families in all aspects from earning enough to feed them, taking care of their medical needs, queuing for and carrying water home to all the household duties.

Mainstreaming gender in the RRF is not only considered at the beneficiary selection stage but also within the activities. For example in WASH projects, latrines are segregated by sex, so that women and girls have separate latrines to men and boys. Latrines for women are also positioned as close as possible to the shelters, bearing in mind Sphere standards. This ensures that women and girls are not placed at risk when walking to the latrine, especially after nightfall.

In projects that require awareness raising, training or other behavior-change activities, gender sensitivities are always carefully considered. Men and women are trained separately when topics are in any way sensitive to the community and may cause embarrassment to either group.

In addition to mainstreaming gender, the RRF also supports ‘Protection focused’ projects, which very specifically target vulnerable groups such as women and girls, and implemented tailored, culturally appropriate activities that are also community-based. All projects include high levels of supported capacity-building of both community members and local/state Government.

Emergency water trucking is provided close to IDP settlements to prevent women from having to travel long distances alone to collect water. Photo courtesy of PLAN International- Sudan.

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In order to cater for gender sensitivities amongst the communities we assist, the RRF is careful to ensure that hygiene promotion campaigns or other information-sharing activities are tailored specifically towards male or female audiences. The topics and messages are developed in coordination with community members to ensure both gender and cultural appropriateness. Photo courtesy of World Relief. ٧

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Protection and support of the vulnerable members of a community is

not a new concept within Sudanese society. Protective community structures such as El Maglis, a traditional, grass-roots community justice system, already exist within many communities but these are destroyed as a result of displacement. Communities that flee are often torn apart and fragmented, so families may also find themselves amongst strangers in their new location. With the additional trauma resulting from the displacement, particularly if the displacement was a result of fleeing from conflict, a higher level of violence can sometimes be found amongst displaced communities compared with the general population.

Despite the fact that women play such a crucial role in society, women and girls

are also the most vulnerable sex, and are more often than not, the victims of gender-based violence (GBV). Based on evidence collected by RRF grantees, GBV is often a serious problem within conflict-affected communities. Knowledge of Women’s Rights, Child Rights, GBV and about the risks of cultural practices that physically harm women and girls (such as female genital mutilation FGM) is often found to be low, meaning that women are not equipped with the basic knowledge of how to protect themselves from different types of harm and violence. Awareness-raising is undertaken sensitively with the support of local authorities and community leaders.

The RRF has funded two protection projects to the amount of US$ 306,000, reaching approximately 500,000 extremely vulnerable individuals (EVIs), such as disabled people, single parents and the elderly, in North Darfur.

The RRF promotes women’s economical independence. Photos courtesy of Nada Elazhar for Disaster Prevention and Sustainable Development (NADA)

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Gamra, a 75yr old widow was supported with livelihoods activities through an RRF project in North Darfur. Since 2013, the RRF has directly and indirectly assisted approximately 425,000 women. Photo courtesy of Nada Elazhar for Disaster Prevention and Sustainable Development (NADA)

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Another one of the basic needs of most displaced

communities, is the need for shelter. Whilst communities often flee towards areas where they have relatives or friends, many flee to open areas where there are no materials in the environment for them to make temporary shelters. Families may well sleep under trees or simply in the open, exposing them to ill health and putting them at risk of violence. For individuals who are already suffering from ill health or those who are more vulnerable to illness, exposure to the elements can be serious. Displaced families who live with their relatives or friends create a burden for their hosts, resulting in high levels of overcrowding and reducing the privacy needed for each family.

The RRF has funded four emergency shelter projects in South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Central Darfur to the amount of US$ 685,198 and provided temporary shelters to 5,500 families. As always, single parent households and families with disabled family members are prioritized in the beneficiary selection process.

Photos courtesy of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA)

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Disease outbreak hits the most remote communities the hardest,

because access to the nearest clinics may be prohibitive due to cost or to the length of the journey, which critically ill patients cannot undertake. The RRF therefore addresses the needs of communities who may not be displaced but are affected by disease outbreak. This was the case in December 2015 when the RRF funded an emergency health project to the amount of USD 216,520. The project targeted communities that were the worst hit by a malaria/dengue outbreak in West Darfur, having already claimed the lives of over 100

individuals at that point. The RRF funded a comprehensive response which tackled surveillance and reporting, case management and community-based vector control. Isolation rooms were set up in four rural clinics and staff re-trained in malaria and dengue treatment. At the community level, volunteer health promoters were taught to identify and report on malaria and dengue cases and intensive training and awareness raising was implemented, to teach all families how to avoid infection. Mobile clinics were also set up and dispatched daily to the most affected, rural villages to treat patients who were not able to access their nearest clinic due to cost or due to the gravity of their condition.

Community members clean their environment to eliminate vector breeding sites. Photo courtesy of World Relief

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The Rapid Response Fund continues to be one the first funding

mechanisms to reach displaced and affected populations in Sudan with life-saving assistance, working collaboratively with the UN Cluster system to ensure that interventions are well coordinated, targeted and do not duplicate other efforts.

Being accessible to National as well as International NGOs, the RRF has the additional benefit of being able to reach remote communities that some agencies may not have access to. The additional benefit of direct interventions that are led by NGOs, is that the RRF remains cost-effective and benefits from the first-hand knowledge that NGOs have of the communities they work in. This in turn improves the cultural appropriateness of projects, which can improve community motivation and buy-in.

A further strength of the RRF is its capacity-building aspect, as applicants are guided through the proposal development and writing process through one-on-one coaching. Support is also provided to successful grantees throughout the project implementation and in monitoring and evaluation of the project deliverables and impact.

With its flexible and adaptable structure, the RRF allows for rapid changes in project outcomes and activities, to meet sudden changes in the operating environment. In Sudan, where contexts change very fast, this flexibility has often been exercised, allowing grantees to modify their proposal, often increasing the impact or advantage for beneficiaries.

In the current environment of decreasing humanitarian funding, the RRF is reaching the most vulnerable individuals who would otherwise be forsaken.

Flooded road in South Kordofan State, 2015. Photo courtesy of Mercy Corps-Scotland

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With thanks to USAID/OFDA

Flood damaged village. Photo by IOM– Sudan

DISCLAIMER The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Agency for International Development or the U.S. Government.