EMERGENCY, European Union and Italian Agency for Development Cooperation collaborate to implement a health, nutrition and education programme in Mayo area, Khartoum

Since 2016 in Khartoum, Mayo Area, EMERGENCY has promoted a three-year programme entitled ‘Health and Nutrition for the vulnerable population in Mayo: an integrated multi-sectoral project’, where EMERGENCY offered free-of-charge health care assistance to children under 14 and women in EMERGENCY Paediatric Centre in Mayo.

The project has now reached its final phase. During the implementation of the three-year project, there have been 57,570 free paediatric consultations, 18,497 women visited, 1,242 cooking classes and 141,890 children and adults who participated to outreach activities. In 2018, 455 checks-ups of newborns were performed, while in terms of preventive medicine, over 16,000 women and children benefited from vaccinations.

Sudan is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis that consists of political, environmental and economic factors.

The war in Darfur and the consequent independence of South Sudan have contributed to progressive political instability in the country. Desertification, drought and floods have intensified displacement. Chronic poverty and underdevelopment have led to food insecurity and a lack of access to basic health services. These phenomena have together fostered large migration flows towards urban areas and their peripheries.

The Sudanese government estimates that, out of a total population of 40 million people, over 2 million are internally displaced. Of these, around 500,000 live in the Mayo area, on the outskirts of Khartoum, together with migrants coming from neighboring countries.

Since 2005, EMERGENCY has provided health, hygiene and sanitary support to the Mayo Paediatric Centre, which is dedicated to providing assistance for children under 14 and women.

In light of the lack of food security and decent sanitary conditions, EMERGENCY has implemented ‘Health and Nutrition for the vulnerable population in Mayo: an integrated multi-sectoral project’.

This has been facilitated by the support of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) and the European Union (EU), both committed to ensuring global health, combating inequality and raising awareness on the right to health. The project was implemented in close collaboration with the local NGO Mujaddidon and with the Khartoum State’s Ministry of Health.

The three-year project was co-funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, which supported the project with a contribution of 1,025,000 Euro and the European Union, which contributed with 524,422 Euro.

Mayo, on the outskirts of Khartoum, began as an IDP camp more than twenty years ago for the population fleeing the wars that have torn the country and since then, it has considerably expanded. There is very little infrastructure in Mayo area. The lack of a shelter system or structural plan means that living conditions are dire. The absence of sewage or water distribution facilities results in huge difficulties managing waste and its disposal. This combination of factors has, therefore, compromised hygienic and sanitary levels.

The intervention aimed to guarantee free paediatric assistance; offer free pre and post-natal, and reproductive health care; increase community participation in awareness-raising activities concerning the protection of public health (including prevention) and the adequate nutritional intake of children; increase the competence of health professionals, community health promoters and staff and volunteers from the partner organization .

Khartoum, 27/8/2019

EMERGENCY ONG ONLUS is an independent, non-governmental organization founded in Italy in 1994 to provide free, high-quality medical and surgical treatment to victims of war, landmines and poverty. It promotes a culture of peace, solidarity and respect for human rights. Since 1994, it has worked in 18 countries, treating over 10 million patients.

AICS Khartoum
Street 33, Al Amarat
Khartoum – Sudan

Delegation of the European Union to Sudan
Block 1B, Plot 10, Gamhoria Street
P.O. Box: 236 Khartoum – Sudan

For more information, please contact:
Ms Dorotea Zjalic, EMERGENCY Grant Manager, Khartoum
Phone: +249 (0) 904408148
E-mail: grants.sudan@emergency.it