VZCZCXRO2102
PP RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0563/01 1011442
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 111442Z APR 07 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6788
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHRN/USMISSION UN ROME

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KHARTOUM 000563 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AIDAC 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/SPG, PRM, AND ALSO PASS USAID/W 
USAID FOR DCHA SUDAN TEAM, AFR/SP 
NAIROBI FOR SFO 
NSC FOR PMARCHAM, MMAGAN, AND TSHORTLEY 
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU 
USUN FOR TMALY 
BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID PREF PGOV PINS PHUM EAGR SU
SUBJECT: SUDAN - USAID RED SEA STATE ASSESSMENT 
 
 
KHARTOUM 00000563  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  (U) From March 7 to 11, a joint USAID assessment team comprised 
of representatives from USAID's offices of Transition Initiatives 
(USAID/OTI), U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA), and Food 
for Peace (USAID/FFP) visited Red Sea State to monitor USAID-funded 
activities and assess current conditions to inform an evolving USAID 
strategy for eastern Sudan.  USAID staff anticipate limited 
humanitarian assistance programming, consisting of discrete 
humanitarian interventions in response to emergency conditions such 
as flood recovery.  However, an increased focus on long-term 
development assistance is required to address the root causes of 
chronic poverty in the state. 
 
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Background 
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¶2.  (U) Between March 7 and 11, a USAID joint assessment mission 
comprised of representatives from USAID/OTI, USAID/OFDA, and 
USAID/FFP traveled to Tokar and areas in rural Port Sudan, Red Sea 
State.  The team met with U.N. agencies, non-governmental 
organizations (NGOs), and Red Sea State government ministry 
officials.  The purpose of the trip was to monitor USAID-funded 
activities and enhance USAID's collective understanding of the 
regional environment to inform an evolving USAID strategy for the 
east.  For FY 2007, USAID/OFDA and USAID/OTI are working together 
closely to identify appropriate joint programming opportunities 
targeting emergency needs and conflict mitigation. 
 
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Red Sea State Confronts Development Challenges 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶3.  (U) USAID staff note a discernible shift from emergency response 
towards rehabilitation and development programs focused on 
livelihoods, capacity building, and economic recovery activities to 
address the root causes of chronic poverty in Red Sea State.  U.N. 
agencies and NGOs operating in the region acknowledge great 
potential for development and are adapting strategies to 
increasingly target long-term development programs.  However, 
despite significant needs, few NGO and U.N. actors are currently 
operating in the region. 
 
¶4.  (U) Significant development assistance is needed to address 
wide-spread poverty, high malnutrition rates, environmental 
degradation, weak infrastructure, and limited basic service 
provision in Red Sea State.  According to the 2006 Oxfam/World Bank 
nutritional study, global acute malnutrition (GAM) rates in Red Sea 
State vary from between 19 to 30 percent with 32 percent of children 
and 24 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 45 identified as 
malnourished.  Additional concerns highlighted by the U.N. 
Development Program (UNDP) include an estimated internally displaced 
person (IDP) population of 95,000, a weak agricultural base, the 
closure and restriction of livestock routes, climatic variations, 
and an inadequate water supply for both human and livestock 
consumption.  The combination of factors has fueled a steady pattern 
of migration from rural areas to urban centers, contributing to 
growing urban unemployment as current employment opportunities are 
insufficient to accommodate the population influx.  The recent 
mechanization of the port in the state capital, Port Sudan, has 
further reduced employment opportunities. 
 
¶5.  (U) Food insecurity in Red Sea State stems from cyclic drought 
and chronic poverty.  According to a U.N. Food and Agriculture 
Organization (FAO) assessment conducted in February 2006, 33 percent 
of the population of Red Sea State will experience food gaps and 
require food assistance in 2007.  However, according to the U.N. 
World Food Program's (WFP) Annual Needs Assessment (ANA), carried 
out in November 2006, the strong 2006 rainy season resulted in 
increased grain production for the 2006/2007 crop season and 
improved livestock and pasture conditions.  As a result, in 2007, 
WFP is not conducting general food distributions in the state, 
instead supporting targeted emergency recovery activities. 
 
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Obstacles to Development Efforts 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) The signing of the Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement (ESPA) in 
October 2006 led to the establishment of the Eastern Sudan 
 
KHARTOUM 00000563  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
Reconstruction and Development Fund (ESRDF) intended to secure funds 
for the development of Red Sea, Gederef, and Kassala states.  The 
Sudanese government is committed to an allocation of USD 600 million 
to ESRDF over the next five years to be governed by an oversight 
board. The state has initiated work on a multi-year strategic 
development planning process which will be coordinated with the 
federal five-year plan.  However, due to internal disputes, the 
Eastern Front has yet to nominate its candidate to the oversight 
board and promised development assistance to the region has been 
stalled as a result. 
 
¶7.  (U) Established in December 2006 to coordinate Red Sea State 
recovery and development efforts, the newly created Red Sea State 
U.N. Regional Coordinator's Office (RCO) confronts significant 
challenges.  A limited staff presence comprised of a field 
coordinator and a field coordination officer and the state 
government's reluctance to permit group NGO meetings hinder RCO 
coordination efforts.  In addition, political sensitivities 
surrounding ESPA undermine the RCO's ability to report on ESPA 
progress.  In the future, the RCO hopes to introduce a matrix to 
track state activities and funding to help advocate for improved 
access to the region. 
 
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Model/Cluster Villages Problematic 
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¶8.  (U) USAID staff observed examples of government-funded model or 
cluster villages intended to accommodate 5,000 relocated pastoralist 
households in fifty model villages.  Presently, the villages are 
populated by metal containers with doors and windows set on concrete 
slabs with no access to grazing land or water points.  The current 
construction and configuration of shelter quarters fail to respect 
traditional settlement patterns due to their close proximity to one 
another and are climatically inappropriate given the extreme heat 
conditions.  The government anticipates that pastoralist communities 
will be encouraged to relocate to the model villages by the 
availability of services, including schools and health clinics. 
However, apart from references to wage labor in Port Sudan, it is 
unclear how the government plans to support households, should the 
relocation take place. 
 
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FY 2007 USAID Assistance 
------------------------ 
 
¶9.  (U) USAID staff visited Tokar and rural Port Sudan to evaluate 
and monitor USAID-funded health and agricultural programs 
implemented by NGO partners International Rescue Committee (IRC) and 
FAO.  In FY 2007, USAID/OFDA is providing USD 500,000 in emergency 
assistance to flood victims in Red Sea State and anticipates limited 
emergency humanitarian programming as a transition to increased 
development assistance moves forward. 
 
 
¶10.  (U) In rural Port Sudan, IRC recently completed the 
rehabilitation of six health centers and has handed over the centers 
to the state's Ministry of Health (MOH).  However, USAID staff 
reported that further capacity building, training, and coordination 
with MOH are needed to expand the health facilities' programs.  As 
the transition from relief to development assistance progresses, 
patterns of dependency and appropriate government and NGO roles will 
need to be addressed as part of a comprehensive strategy for eastern 
Sudan. 
 
¶11.  (U) In Tokar, USAID-funded agriculture and livelihood programs 
have provided vegetable seeds, farming tools, and livestock inputs 
to assist 7,000 farmers and 50,000 herders affected by flooding. 
USAID staff reported that the development of farmers' cooperatives, 
agro processing, marketing support, and product diversification are 
potential mechanisms to further strengthen the economic security of 
agriculturalists in the region. 
 
¶12.  (U) In addition, USAID/FFP continues to provide Title II food 
assistance in Red Sea State through WFP's emergency operation 
(EMOP).  In 2007, WFP is making a concerted effort to focus on the 
root causes of food insecurity in the region and provide support for 
recovery activities, including emergency school feeding, food for 
asset protection, food for training, and food for work (FFW) instead 
of general free food distributions.  In Port Sudan, USAID staff 
participated in a WFP implementing partner workshop focused on 
improving FFW implementation. 
 
 
KHARTOUM 00000563  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
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