An 18 month-long conflict between the Sudanese Army Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has led to a severe humanitarian crisis, displacing more than 11 million people within Sudan and outside as well as causing widespread acute food insecurity. The conflict has severely disrupted access to basic services like healthcare, clean water, and electricity, as infrastructure has been damaged in affected areas, and facilities are often targeted or inaccessible due to ongoing fighting. Many hospitals and clinics have been forced to close, leaving people without access to medical care, while shortages of food and clean water have worsened, exacerbating the risk of malnutrition and disease outbreaks such as cholera.
Amidst liquidity shortages, high inflation, disruptions in market supply chains and other negative impacts of the conflict, humanitarian cash interventions remain a viable response modality, particularly in areas with access restrictions for in-kind assistance. Aid agencies are using cash and voucher assistance (CVA), where feasible, to implement programmes through financial service providers (FSPs), while monitoring market functionality and local prices through the monthly Joint Market Monitoring Initiative (JMMI). During August, more than 860,000 people in parts of Sudan were reached with sectoral cash assistance, almost doubling the number of beneficiaries assisted in July 2024. All sectoral CVA is coordinated by respective clusters, with technical and coordination support from the Cash Working Group (CWG)