Equitable access to water for all is one of the major challenges of the 21st century. Hundreds of millions of people are deprived of water, not because it is a rare commodity but because of poverty, social inequality and a lack of political resolve. The SDC places the use of water for people and their food security at the centre of its work.
The health situation across Sudan remains fragile. There are high risks of disease, floods and drought, low access to drinking water, and poor sanitation. Within Sudan, there are significant urban/rural, regional, gender and socioeconomic disparities.
Social Services activities in Sudan focus on restoring and improving the livelihoods among IDPs, refugees, returnees and vulnerable communities providing access to safe water supply and improve sanitation as well as strengthening local capacity to mitigate, prepare for, respond to and properly manage public health risks to prevent avoidable mortality and morbidity.
In the Basic Services sector, SDC’s area of focus in <>North Sudan is mainly South Kordofan State.
Communities face great problems regarding access to safe water supply and sanitation due to the effects of war and population movement. Returnees create added pressure on already scarce resources.
SDC/HA has been supporting the UNICEF Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Programmes in the Nuba Mountains since 2003 by financially contributing to the UNICEF Water, Environment and Sanitation (WES) project in South Kordofan and by the presence of a Swiss expert to strengthen the management and coordination capacities of both UNICEF and WES local authorities in the region.
