- In Brief
Sudan
- The IRC continues to work in Southern Sudan providing healthcare and other vital services as refugees and displaced people return after decades of civil war. Photo: Peter Biro/The IRC
Sudan, Africa's largest country, has been divided by civil war almost constantly since it gained independence in 1956. While the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in 2005 ended decades of fighting between the north and south, communities are still struggling to rebuild after years of devastation claimed countless lives and wrecked vital infrastructure. At the same time, violence continues to plague Darfur in the west of Sudan. Brutal fighting there has left an estimated 200,000 people dead and forced more than 2.5 million people to flee their homes.
Earlier this year the people of Sudan voted in the first multiparty election in the country in 24 years. The vote was one of the provisions of the 2005 peace deal. It will be followed by a pivotal referendum next January on unity or secession for Southern Sudan. International support is critical to salvage the peace process and tackle ongoing crisis in Darfur.
How We Help
The International Rescue Committee has been operating in Sudan since 1981, aiding communities hit by conflict or natural disaster, and helping to rebuild in areas recovering from conflict.
In Southern Sudan - effectively a semi-autonomous country since 2005 - the IRC now directly helps more than 450,000 people with essential services including healthcare, special medical care for children under five, protection and measures to tackle violence against women.
The IRC was also delivering humanitarian aid to around 2 million people in Darfur, North and East Sudan until March 2009. A decision by the Government of Sudan to expel the IRC and 12 other international aid agencies effectively halted these programmes overnight.
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