Japan has pledged a contribution of USD 810,000 to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) in Sudan’s project “Emergency Support to IDP Returns in Eid Elfursan Locality, South Darfur State” for a period of one year running from March 2021 to March 2022. The project will benefit some 17,000 returned Internal Displaced Persons (IDPs) and hosting communities in Um Ganah Administrative Unit of Eid Elfursan Locality, South Darfur State that consists of Um Ganah village with surrounding 17 cluster villages, located 58 km southwest of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur.
Um Ganah is one of the communities which have seen a tremendous number of IDP return home in Darfur. Nevertheless, they are facing the severe living condition and lack of basic services, COVID-19 mitigation measures, public facilities and security of their own land and are in need of support.
Through the support of Japan, the project aims to support sustainable IDP returns and ensure human security of both the returned IDPs and hosting communities through the development of guiding principle of IDP returns and securing their rights. The project also aims to enhance self-reliance of the returned IDPs and hosting communities particularly youth and women through self-help construction and improvement of basic services and public facilities by producing Stabilized Soil Block (SSB) by the trained youth and women within the community. Moreover, COVID-19 mitigation measures will be introduced and applied to the community.
His Excellency Mr. Takashi Hattori, Ambassador of Japan to the Republic of the Sudan expressed that it is his utmost pleasure to fund UN-Habitat continuously and that it is a proof that the Government of Japan places its importance in providing urgent supports for the life-saving activities and stable returns of displaced persons in Sudan. He said “with the rising needs to support IDPs’ living condition and their daily security, the efforts of UN-Habitat is so valuable that it focuses on both the provision of urgent material supports, such as the establishment of water points or a primary school, and on the sustainable solutions for IDPs to effectively settle down to their desired destinations with more concrete sense of their land property.” He further added, “In addition to its thorough impact to the lives of IDP returnees and hosting communities, the project is associated with NAPSA, the New Approach for the Peace and Stability in Africa, which was launched in TICAD7 by the government of Japan. NAPSA aims at supporting the efforts to address the root causes of conflicts with respect to African states’ ownership, hence this project symbolizes the tenet of NAPSA.”
Mr. Masayuki Yokota, Head of UN-Habitat Country Programme underpinned the critical challenges in Sudan, caused by a significant number of the population consists of IDPs, refugees and returnees those who need urgent and practical solutions to enhance their resilience and to ensure human security. Particularly, the large numbers of IDPs around major cities, towns, and villages, leading to unplanned, rapid urbanization in urban peripheries without adequate basic infrastructure and services, and negatively influenced Sudanese hosting communities. Mr. Yokota thanked the Government of Japan for supporting the project in Sudan contributing to broader aspects of the villages where IDPs returned, including living environment, livelihood and health to ensure that both IDPs and the hosting communities can live in dignity.
On behalf of South Darfur State government, Mr. Musa Mehdi, the Governor of South Darfur State expressed gratitude to the Government of Japan for supporting the peaceful coexistence in Um Ganah and its surrounding villages in Eid Elfursan Locality through implementation of the project by UN-Habitat Sudan. Mr. Musa Mehdi also stated that in 2018-2019, the Government of Japan also supported the project on “Peaceful IDP Returns in Alsalam Locality, South Darfur State” that was well-designed and successfully implemented by UN-Habitat Sudan; and the lives and the capacity of the people were strengthened with human dignity. This new project will ensure sustainable reintegration of the returned IDPs, mitigating of COVID-19 pandemic, besides, provision of basic services including water, health, education, and solar power systems with securing land tenure at Um Ganah village.
Last year, Japan also provided UN-Habitat Sudan with USD 800,000 to support sustainable IDP returns and coexistence of IDPs and hosting communities in Tawilla Locality, North Darfur State.
