ERR Food Security & Distribution Plan

The aim is to build on the existing local markets by a combination of several soup kitchens in each administrative unit and cash injections followed by concentrating on  supporting and maintaining the supply chains for transporting people and goods across the country. Thus encouraging the growth of a mutual aid solidarity economy based on the farmers, businesses, unions, trader associations, local leaders and ERRs that are critical to responding to the crisis constructively:

• Pay the salaries of civil servants through online banking: this is the fastest way to add the much needed cash flow to the market.
• Pay incentive: to the hospital staff and infrastructure (water, electricity and telecommunications) workers.
• Support hospital soup kitchens: these will feed patients, patients’ families, staff, volunteers and the nearby community. Potential partners can supply hospitals directly with food, cooking gas and utensils/pots.
• Support neighborhood soup kitchens: supplying one meal a day including salads, peanut butter, yogurt  and eggs to supplement children. This is best supported through online banking cash advances to the kitchens. The food will be cooked and distributed by the volunteers of the ERR of the neighborhood alongside the community. Supplies will be bought from the local neighborhood market or stores.
• Khartoum state IDP camps: the camps already had structures of food distribution that should be maintained.
• Support neighborhood and farmer’s markets in each administrative locality: this will be the main distribution point to the last mile supplying grocery stores and providing a safe market that is easier to protect inside neighborhoods. A collaboration between trade associations and the ERRs can help meet the needs and challenges of these markets.
• Support the existing supply chain: support the wholesalers to be able to move their goods to smaller traders in the ways they know will be safest. Support the costs for transport, new storage ways and structures. The aim is to allow neighborhood markets and grocery stores to stay stocked.
• Ensure safe corridors to move people and goods: Set clear rules of conduct for checkpoints and maintain these through checkpoint monitoring and open communication between trader’s associations, ERRs, UN and the soldiers about safest corridors and ways of moving. This will allow for localized case by case negotiation for access per neighborhood.
• Cooking gas: due to the sensitivity of transport special negotiations have to be made to allow the transport and distribution of cooking gas by discussion with the gas companies.
• Support farmers in Khartoum and the nearby states: their main needs of fuel for pumps and tractors and labor wages. Also engaging farmer unions to support them to produce for next year e.g. Gadarif and Gazira.
• Data collection: this will be essential to collect and maintain to be able to respond as the humanitarian crises continues to grow and more support is needed to the most vulnerable populations within the neighborhoods. This should include the need to develop a simple data collection system that includes market prices, quantities, people benefiting, access and challenges.

Things to look out for:

• A distortion in the market caused by relief buying and hiring transporters e.g. what happened during evacuation when transport prices got hyper inflated.
• Ensuring a way of vetting businesses so it’s not warring parties or corrupt officials.

These concerns can be overcome by empowering trusted locals to lead on negotiating prices and paying.