Attachments
Katie Whipkey
Key Findings
• Food security and livelihoods (FSL): Two-thirds of respondents said their primary means of earning income has changed (58% of male respondents, 51% of female respondents). As such, most people (81%) have reported reducing their food intake and/or changing the way they eat. Female-headed households (59%) are more likely to reduce food intake than male-headed households (47%).
• Nutrition: Most households (66%) are eating less diverse types of foods than before the conflict, and women (55%) have experienced a disproportionate change in eating less nutritious foods (compared to 33% of men). This may contribute to nutritional support being reported as the top health need of women and girls.
• Health: Nearly half (44%) of those who tried to access healthcare in July did not have the money to pay for it. The biggest challenge, however, is a lack of available medicines and treatments (66%), especially for the growing problem of malaria (53%). Displaced women especially are recognizing a growing mental health crisis amongst all, especially children, but only 10% of respondents note psychological support as a key health need. More men and women alike see reproductive health as a critical need, but mostly in East Darfur where emergency care from the conflict is not as pressing.
• Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH): Women are more likely than men to feel that water availability is low and that they face long wait times to fetch it. Most people have safe access to latrines (83%), and those that do not are more commonly men because women are using neighbors’ facilities. Most women (61%) do not feel that their menstrual hygiene needs are being met.
• Safety and Protection: One-third of survey respondents, almost all of whom were in East Darfur and Khartoum, feel there has been an increase in sexual violence and rape of women and girls. Men, on the other hand, face greater risk of intentional killings and injury.
• Participation: Few households – though equally amongst men and women – have received any type of humanitarian assistance since the start of the conflict (16%) and even fewer have been consulted about their needs (11%) by any aid organizations.
Executive Summary
On April 15, 2023, heavy clashes erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum. The conflict has since expanded and involves more non-state armed actors. There has been a near total collapse of services in the most conflict-affected states, including the closure of markets, shops, healthcare centers, schools, and the outages of water, electricity, banking, and telecommunications infrastructures. The complexity of the situation sets the tone for rippling consequences that have been seen across the entire population, especially affecting already marginalized groups and those with pre-existing vulnerabilities (such as femaleheaded households and those with chronic health conditions). The purpose of the Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA) is to provide information about the different needs, capacities and coping strategies of women and men focusing on four states: Al Gezira, Khartoum, East Darfur, and South Darfur. The RGA gathered primary data from 121 participants in August 2023, and triangulated the findings against 90 secondary data sources.
Data from the RGA shows that despite women taking on more income-generating responsibilities, they continue to have unequal decision-making rights within the household. One of the biggest changes in gender roles has been the emergence of more women in the labor force. Men and women alike reported feeling that the only job opportunities currently available are for women. As such, women are increasingly working outside of the household to financially provide for their families. Despite this change, the division of household unpaid care work has not shifted; in most cases, the burden of caretaking for the family is shouldered by women and has only expanded since schools have closed. Therefore, while most women feel they have gained marginally more decisionmaking power within the household, it has been primarily related to caregiving tasks and making choices around pursuing different types of income-generating opportunities.
Similarly, women are playing important roles in the humanitarian response, but they remain sidelined from humanitarian decision-making. Many of the patriarchal norms that have been long-present in Sudanese culture that restrict women’s agency and participation in the public sphere have continued. Namely, women within affected communities are not participating in humanitarian decision-making even though they have been on the frontlines of mobilizing quickly to address urgent needs for newly displaced families and women survivors of gender-based violence (GBV). Local groups such as women’s and youth initiatives/networks are stepping in where possible to run volunteer-led, community-based services – including lifesaving health services since many international organizations have reduced their operations.i The localized efforts have been impactful especially as several issues related to mismanagement of aid from multilaterals/INGOs were raised by both male and female respondents. For instance, humanitarian aid decisions are being made unilaterally by camp managers – creating barriers to access for some already marginalized groups – causing the aid not to reach its intended recipients.
Sudan’s traditional culture of reciprocity and community cohesiveness has been a lifeline for many families, but bonds are weakening as resources are depleting. Families, friends, and strangers are sharing whatever they have (homes, food, water, clothes, etc.) with each other; sometimes ten or more families are living together in one house. However, as the conflict has extended for many months, respondents shared that many host and displaced families are growing wearier of the co-living arrangement as pressure is mounting on the host families. Some families are experiencing multiple displacements often from host families’ homes into collective shelters due to resource shortages or because of conflicts that arise within the household. In collective shelters, women and girls are more likely to face increased risks for GBV and insufficient basic facilities such as safe latrines.
Harmful and unsustainable coping strategies are being widely practiced to manage the impacts of the conflict. Most respondents (81%) reported reducing their food intake and changing the way they eat because of the conflict. Men were more likely than women to report a personal reduction in their eating habits, but reducing overall food intake is more common in female-headed households than in male-headed households. While most have not been experiencing water shortages to the same extent as food yet, men and women have still been forced to reduce their water use by compromising their hygiene habits, most commonly taking fewer showers and doing less cleaning. Men and women are searching for options to cope with a lack of cash and rising prices to buy food and non-food items including selling assets and borrowing money. Women are leaning more heavily on diversifying their incomeearning strategies – both in formal and informal economies – and using their savings, whereas men are relying more on selling assets.
Key Findings by Sector
• Food Security and Livelihoods (FSL): Loss of income has been the most widely felt impact of the conflict across all states, and the shift in livelihoods has been the biggest change (77%), especially for men (58% of men compared to 44% of women). Many went from having a stable job to depending on savings, humanitarian assistance, support from relatives, or shifting to various types of daily labor. This has compromised food security; now, nearly half of the population is experiencing crisis levels of food insecurity.ii Women, pregnant and lactating women, female-headed households, rural households, people living with disabilities, and older persons (60+) are most susceptible to food insecurity.iii Most households report a lack of income and safety risks as the main barriers to accessing food, rather than lack of food availability at markets.
• Nutrition: Malnutrition is an increasing problem in all states especially for children and pregnant and lactating women, which has only exacerbated pre-conflict levels that were already the highest globally.iv Food supplements – in particular for moderate malnutrition and prevention of malnutrition – are not available, increasing the risks of compromised immune systems, vulnerability to disease, and starvation. Many feel that the most pressing health need of women and girls is nutritional support through increased food diversity and supplementations. Sourcing foods for nutritional diversification such as fruits, milk, meat, and vegetables has been increasingly difficult. Women of reproductive age suffer from higher levels of anemia and malnutrition that present risks for birth complications (such as hemorrhaging) and maternal and infant mortality.
• Health: Although the health system faced significant gaps before the crisis, it has become increasingly strained as a result of the conflict’s escalation, although the impact has varied by state. In Khartoum, just 16% of facilities are fully operational and in East Darfur, many of the village clinics have closed. While facilities remain open in Gezira, they are overcrowded and severely overstrained. Non-urgent needs such as pre-and post-natal care are being deprioritized at health facilities, causing Sudan’s maternal mortality rate to rise since the conflict. Medications and vaccinations are unavailable at a time when risks for diseases are spreading (e.g., malaria and cholera) and those with chronic conditions have gone without treatment, especially those with kidney disease, diabetes, and cancer. Women are experiencing the biggest gap in healthcare as fewer female medical staff are available, and many women are reluctant or even prohibited to be treated by male medical staff due to cultural norms and practices. Also, women reported reduced health seeking behaviors due to safety fears of attack from armed actors who are often stationed outside of medical facilities. Burnout and safety risks for local medical teams are presenting significant challenges to sustained programming.
• Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS): Women are much more likely than men to discuss the mental health crisis unfolding in Sudan. According to RGA data, women recognize their own psychological health is suffering, such as feeling more depressed and alone, but they show the most concern for the children who they feel are most affected. Many say that children’s personalities and behaviors have drastically changed since the start of the conflict. Men are also exhibiting indications of mental health challenges and increased stressors brought upon by their inability to provide for the household in traditional ways. Additionally, survivors of sexual violence and rape are in dire need of specialized support and there are indications of increased risk of suicide, especially amongst young women.
• Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH): Accessing water is challenging for most people (83%), and women are slightly more impacted by these challenges than men as it is the responsibility of women in Sudanese culture to fetch water for the household. The primary challenges are electricity cuts that halt service from pumps, long waiting times at water pumps, and far distances to fetch water. Water contamination is a growing problem, particularly in regions where there has been an influx of displaced families. In these areas, sanitation is suffering due to garbage piling up and latrines being overcrowded. Still, most people feel they have a safe latrine to use and a place to bathe. Men are slightly more likely to feel they do not have access to a latrine or place to bathe, largely due to women being more comfortable sharing facilities with neighbors. According to RGA data, women’s greatest hygiene need is menstrual products, whereas the community at large is in dire need of soap.
• Safety and Protection: Risks are increasing and differ between men and women. One of the biggest risks to young men, particularly in Khartoum, is accusations of working for one of the conflicting parties. Men and boys are being targeted and are being beaten, killed, or detained. The major risk to women and girls is gender-based violence. An estimated 4.2 million people are now in need of GBV services.v Intimate partner violence (IPV), sexual violence and rape by armed actors are on the rise. Women and girls, particularly in Khartoum and East Darfur, fear being raped or kidnapped while traveling to the market or any location outside of their home. In response, some men and women (but more so women) are staying inside their home or shelter as much as possible, especially at night to protect themselves from armed actors.
Recommendations
Overarching: Women must be meaningfully incorporated into the humanitarian response to ensure aid delivery reaches those most in need and to elevate the capabilities of female leadership in moving toward a more gender equitable Sudan post-conflict. Addressing humanitarian needs goes hand-in-hand with nexus solutions that strengthen existing structures and prioritize cash-based assistance, promoting local solutions and resilience. A full list of recommendations can be found in the report.
• Food Security and Livelihoods: Launch income generating and livelihood diversification activities and cashfor-work programs as appropriate for the context and in consultation with local women’s groups to mitigate against perpetuating harmful norms. Target the most vulnerable populations such as pregnant women with life-saving food assistance and ensure that information regarding the availability of food assistance is accessible to the most vulnerable, including non-displaced residents hosting displaced families.
• Health and nutrition: Financially support the operation and staffing (including female professionals) of existing health facilities and nutrition centers and ensure the integration of reproductive health, GBV, and rape care and management. Establish safe and accessible mental health and psychosocial support services.
Prioritize delivery of the most needed medications and treatments such as malaria, insulin, antibiotics, vaccinations for children, malnutrition supplements and treatments, and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) kits.
• WASH: Expand water access to communities experiencing shortages through water trucking and water filtration or chlorination resources to shorten the distances that women need to travel to fetch water and provide jerry cans for extended storage. Ensure that camps and collective shelters have sex-segregated latrines and bathing spaces and sufficient soaps and menstrual hygiene products.
• Protection: Ensure that all front-line humanitarian actors are trained in the basic concepts of psychosocial first aid around GBV, disclosures, and safe referrals and that information regarding GBV services and reporting mechanisms are made accessible to communities.