Meeting more than medical needs: Cash transfer in South Darfur

After intense fighting broke out in 2023, RSF took control of much of the region, including the state capital, Nyala. More than 930,000 people have been displaced in South Darfur due to the war, in addition to more than 900,000 people who had been displaced by prior conflict. Some people have been living in camps on the outskirts of Nyala for about 20 years.

The presence of government programs, UN organizations and their agencies, and international NGOs is now very limited and Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams are providing health care in a context where the needs go much farther. 

Communities are not only struggling with the collapse of health care services but also with a severe lack of essential resources such as food and clean water. Even if food is available, it is often expensive and not affordable for the average family.

Faced with these pressing challenges, MSF launched a three-month group cash transfer program in South Darfur. Although this kind of program is common among other international NGOs, it is an unusual initiative for MSF, as we generally focus on providing medical care.

What is group cash transfer?

Group cash transfer is a humanitarian approach that helps communities affected by crises through direct cash grants. These funds give local groups the opportunity to decide how best to use them, whether to focus on vulnerable people or improve community-wide well-being. This flexibility empowers communities to take charge of their own response and recovery efforts.

By funding programs that local groups are already running to help people in their communities, group cash transfers ensure that assistance reaches those most in need. This approach also acknowledges that in most cases, communities themselves are best placed to determine their most urgent priorities.

In South Darfur, the selection process for the program was thorough and inclusive, ensuring that a wide range of local groups could participate. It targeted diverse entities, including community committees, women's groups, volunteer-led initiatives, and grassroots organizations. More established local and national NGOs were also considered, creating a balanced mix of participants. This approach aimed to empower different segments of the community, fostering collaboration and ensuring that support could reach those who need it most.

Feeding schoolchildren returning to class 

Each selected group received up to $15,000 to implement projects addressing critical needs. Among the 15 groups chosen, seven focused on school feeding programs, with some supporting multiple schools; three provided assistance to volunteer-run health posts; and two established community kitchens to support internally displaced people (IDPs).

One example is the Baladna Organization for Social Development, a local group that collaborated with MSF to provide meals in primary schools. Their initiative aimed to feed over 450 students and 40 teachers and volunteers for three months.

“After the war broke out in April 2023, many schools closed due to the conflict,” says Lisa Searle, MSF project coordinator in South Darfur. “When they reopened, one of the biggest challenges was the lack of food, which affected attendance. Families struggled to send their children to school for a full day without a meal. Recognizing this, we partnered with local organizations to provide school meals, ensuring children could focus on their education.”

“These cash transfer programs contributed to stabilizing the school in terms of attendance and feeding schoolchildren to give them the nutrition they need,” says Mohammed Hashem, director of Baladna Organization for Social Development.

A call for greater humanitarian response in Sudan amid aid cuts

The group cash transfer program underscores the vast humanitarian needs in Sudan—particularly in Darfur—where the ongoing conflict has devastated communities. The UN has described the crisis as one of the worst humanitarian emergencies in modern history.

While MSF continues to respond to urgent medical and humanitarian needs whenever possible, the scale of suffering in Sudan far exceeds its capacity to respond. UN agencies and international NGOs must intensify their efforts to alleviate the immense hardship faced by the Sudanese people by increasing direct funding to local NGOs already working on the ground, and by shifting decision-making power to these organizations and grassroots initiatives that are best placed to identify and address urgent needs. 

This initiative comes at a time when severe funding cuts from major international donors have left local responders scrambling for resources, while the UN’s ability to scale up its response remains hindered by entrenched political obstacles that continue to delay or restrict the delivery of lifesaving aid across Darfur.