28-03-2025 | di COOPI

Sudan. The initiative that feeds and uplifts families in North Darfur

In North Darfur, Sudan, many people have been displaced due to the ongoing conflict since mid-April 2023 and were forced to flee to Mellit, where they face immense difficulties in securing basic needs such as food, water and shelter. To address this emergency, COOPI – Cooperazione Internazionale launched the project “Early Action Integrated Food Crisis Response to Food Security Crisis in Mellit - North Darfur State, Sudan” funded by the Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SHF). As part of this response, COOPI distributed goats to vulnerable, female-headed households among the internally displaced people (IDPs).

Marium Ahmed, one of the beneficiaries, shared her experience:

We have been living in squalid conditions in the IDP camps with no proper shelter from the heat during the summer and the cold during the winter. I came here with no support as I left my husband behind, my children are young and cannot fend for themselves. I am here with my 4 daughters and 2 sons, one of the boys is disabled”.

The importance of this support is even more evident given the critical situation in Mellit. According to the latest projections from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), Mellit has been classified as a famine area, with over 70,000 individuals facing famine, and children remaining the most vulnerable and at risk of death.

We have been supported with 3 goats by COOPI during these difficult times, apart from many other supports they gave us including seeds, tools and water. The goat provided was very useful to me, I was lucky to be part of the goat beneficiaries. The two goats reproduced and I now have access to milk everyday for my family. I also sell 1.5 liters of milk in the morning and 1.5 liters in the evening. I have 3 families that depend on my milk and I get money from them to feed my family. From the milk I earn 7500 SDG per day and in a month the total income is 225,000 SDG. With this money I can feed my family, pay for their medical bill if needed and save for my small business I want to start soon. I am planning to start selling food items in the IDP camp through my savings.”.

The project is part of a broader, integrated multisectoral response that includes support in Food Security and Livelihoods, Nutrition and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). With funding from the SHF, COOPI is able to reach some of the most vulnerable populations in Mellit, one of Sudan’s hardest-to-reach areas, where insecurity and famine have plagued the population for over two years.

COOPI has been operating in Sudan and North Darfur since 2004, providing humanitarian aid and development support to the most vulnerable groups affected by conflict and disasters, including refugees, IDPs and host communities. COOPI's work focuses on Humanitarian Assistance, Protection, WASH, Disaster Risk Reduction, Food Security and Economic Development.