Local lifelines: Enhancing information sharing and inclusion in Sudan
Southern Highlands, Papua New Guinea. Photo: OCHA/Anthony Burke
Since the outbreak of conflict in Sudan in April 2023, the civil society space has changed dramatically, both in terms of a decline in the presence of formally registered national NGOs – who typically have been heavily reliant on international funding and therefore less resilient to the reducing availability of resources, and through the central role that hyper-local mutual aid groups – in particular Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs) – have increasingly played in delivering assistance to crisis-affected communities.
Alongside this, diaspora networks have also played a critical role in mobilising resources, mounting humanitarian initiatives and global advocacy campaigns and circulating information with communities in Sudan since the start of the current crisis. However, despite the diverse character of Sudanese civil society, engagement with the international humanitarian system has been limited.
The local lifelines project looks into how coordination and information sharing between local actors and international humanitarian structures can be improved to enable greater localised humanitarian action in Sudan.
In March 2025, we published recommendations for developing systematic approaches to information sharing within Sudan's humanitarian response.
Recommendations for systematic information sharing
1. Establish a collaborative platform, focusing at de-centralised level
2. Address structural barriers of language and inclusion
3. Develop standardised information-sharing and communications protocols
4. Implement measures to prevent gatekeeping and ensure equitable access to information.
5. Increase digital inclusion.
6. Enhance data management and analysis capacities.
In December 2024, CDAC Network convened a roundtable on Sudan to share these early findings with ERR, mutual aid groups, diaspora representatives, donors, INGOs and conflict researchers - see the summary note from the roundtable in English and Arabic here.
This project was produced with funding from H2H network.