Water Crisis in Sudan - Focus Study

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The current water crisis in Sudan

• 12.3 million people only have access to contaminated water
• 30% of the rural population and 40% of the urban population have clean drinking water
• Only 5% of Khartoum’s population has access to a central sewage system
• Only 20% of rural dwellers have some form of sanitation services (usually pit latrines)
• In 2004, 700,000 people in Darfur didn’t have access to clean drinking water

Access to clean drinking water has a direct link to other important factors, such as health and education. By addressing this simple need, we can literally save millions of lives.

Why study the situation in Sudan?

Sudan is a microcosm for the global water crisis, as the appalling situation in the country reveals. Geography is partially responsible for this issue, as there is sparse rainfall in the Nubian and Libyan Deserts. Although the Nile River is an abundant source of water, agriculture is dependent on the flooding of this river. Similarly, As Sudd, the world’s largest swamp, accounts for the evaporation of more than 50% of the water that comes down the White Nile. In Northern Sudan, the Atbarah River that comes down from Ethiopia only reaches the Nile between July and December. Thus the people living in this area cannot receive water from this source during the remainder of the year.

The conflicts in Sudan have intensified the water crisis, meaning that the need for water projects is urgent.

From conflict to hope
Overview of the Conflict
The situation in Sudan is often classified as a conflict between Muslim Arabs in the north and predominantly Christian and animist Africans in the south. However, the conflict is much more complex, as atrocities have been committed on both sides. The Janjaweed is an Arab military faction based in the north, and there are numerous rebel factions as well, including the Sudanese Liberation Movement, the Justice and Equality Movement, and the National Redemption Front. In many ways, the conflict revolves around land, since only 7% of Sudanese land is arable.

Since the outbreak of civil war in 1966, 2 million Sudanese have been killed and four million have been displaced within the country. In Eastern Sudan alone, there are an estimated 136,000 refugees. Other refugees have fled to neighboring countries, such as to Chad, where there are 200,000 Sudanese refugees.

The Situation in Darfur
Darfur is home to 6 million of the poorest people in Africa. Much of Darfur is desert, so for these Sudanese each day provides a struggle to find food and water. In Darfur, the government exploited the ingrained animosity between the Arabs and the other African tribes by arming the Arabs in order to fight the rebel army, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army. However, the Arabs often did not distinguish between the rebels and civilians, and burned thousands of villages, killing and displacing their inhabitants. Because most of Darfur is desert, each day can provide a struggle to find food and water, and the fighting between the government militias and the rebel army has greatly exacerbated this problem. Thus, in Darfur, the fighting is the most intense, and its consequences have an extremely devastating effect on the local civilians.

Peace Brings Hope

In February 2001, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army and the Islamist group the Popular National Congress signed a “memorandum of understanding,” which greatly decreased the violence between north and south. However, intense violence still continues in Darfur. While the tragedy in that area continues, the shrinking conflict gives organizations like Blue Planet Sudan an amazing opportunity to save lives. Southern Sudan is a broken region, however, the decreasing violence in the region allows relief organizations to begin to rebuild the country. The people there still lack the fundamental human element, water, and by supplying this basic need we can bring hope to this devastated region.

Join us in bringing water to save lives and mend a broken country.

Sudan Perspectives | Get Involved | Other Resources

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The Blue Planet Run Teen Board - Blue Planet Sudan Committee
Rachel Baum | Allie Johnson | Sabine Kunz