2nd April, Khartoum – As Sudan approaches the fourth year of its devastating war, UNDP Assosciate Administrator Haoliang Xu has called for renewed investment in programmes to build local capacity and sustain national systems during a three-day visit to Khartoum and Port Sudan.

With 34 million people in need, 13 million displaced and around 21 million facing acute food insecurity, humanitarian aid alone will never be sufficient to match the scale of suffering in what is the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.

Empowering local people and institutions – for example through support to local farmers and businesses, and by maintaining critical national services like power, water and healthcare – is the only way for millions of people to get life-saving treatment, raise their children in safe and healthy communities and earn the money needed to put food on their own tables.

“Even as war rages on, the message from the Sudanese people is clear: they seek the dignity of self-reliance over prolonged aid dependency,” said Xu. “Empowering communities to support themselves is a matter of human dignity but also the most effective strategy to reach the tens of millions requiring healthcare, food security and economic stability, including those beyond the reach of humanitarian aid.”

During his visit, Xu took part in the re-opening of the UN House in Khartoum, which comes as millions of displaced people return to their cities of origin and support is urgently needed to restore jobs, power and healthcare. Administered by UNDP and hosting 10 UN entities, including the Resident Coordinator’s Office, the reopening of the UN House marks a renewed commitment to expanding operations, both in the capital and in communities across Sudan that Khartoum’s central location makes it easier to reach.

Xu also visited UNDP projects and reaffirmed UNDP’s long-term commitment to Sudan in meetings with the Prime Minister, Sovereign Council and Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Finance and Health, with discussions centering on how to strengthen collaboration for the Sudanese people.

In 2025, UNDP programmes operating from offices in 10 locations across Sudan with around 130 staff reached 4.9 million people with support for agriculture, livelihoods and access to basic services like healthcare and local peacebuilding. This includes lifesaving healthcare for 1.2 million people; improved incomes for 1.75 million people through farming, business and cash-for-work programmes; clean energy for 750,000 people; and solar-powered water systems for 820,000.

Over the same period, UNDP also supported 25,000 women to move from subsistence to sustainable income generation, provided digital literacy training for 10,000 women and young people and enabled 12,000 youth to engage in peacebuilding, social cohesion and resilience initiatives.

“Rapid support to scale up operations and empower local people can change lives across Sudan,” said Xu. “We call on the international community to seize this opportunity with renewed investment for people who have gone through almost three years of unimaginable suffering.”

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For more information contact:

Hajer Suliman, UNDP Sudan, Head of Communications, hajer.suliman@undp.org, mobile and WhatsApp +249 918 008 819

About UNDP Sudan

UNDP is the leading United Nations organization fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and planet. Learn more at www.undp.org/sudan.