UN-led seminar urges civic groups to help Sudan meet development goals

Continuing its efforts to help usher in peace and stability for Sudan, the United Nations has held a workshop in Khartoum encouraging civil society and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to coordinate their activities to improve the war-torn country’s chances of meeting international anti-poverty, health and development targets.

The one-day workshop, organized by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and held on Wednesday, aimed at encouraging NGOs and civic groups active in Sudan to build a network through which they could share information, develop a collaborative approach, strengthen their capacities and promote a concrete and sound Millennium Development Goal (MDG) strategies that could be implemented in cooperation with official agencies.

“By organizing this workshop, UNDP is initiating a series of meetings and events designed to help NGOs and [civil society groups] working in and for Sudan to adopt a common strategy for achieving the Millennium Development Goals,” said Afaf Rehiman, Project Manager of UNDP/MDGs for Sudan.

The Goals are a set of ambitious targets, ranging from halving extreme poverty, to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and to providing universal primary education, all by 2015.

With Sudan just taking tentative steps towards recovery after the signing in May of a peace deal that ended a 14-year war between southern-based rebels and the Government, but still struggling with a separate two-year civil conflict that has killed 180,000 people and displaced millions more in the Darfur region, all UN specialized agencies throughout the country are working towards achieving the MDGs.

According to UNDP’s human development index (which did not include rebel-held areas in the South) Sudan ranked 138th out of 175 countries in 2003. UNDP is taking the lead on supporting the Government’s initiative to adopt the MDGs as a development-planning framework to meet Sudan’s Millennium commitment.

UNDP says that the Government and UN agencies’ efforts are backed by national and international NGOs work. Over 250 national and international organizations, including NGOs and community-based organizations are active in different fields of humanitarian assistance, providing support in emergency relief rehabilitation, education, orphan sponsorship, mother and child care, health services, environment, supply of water and sanitation among other development activities in Sudan.