Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06KHARTOUM1126
2006-05-14 13:21:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Khartoum
Cable title:  

Darfur Livelihoods Assessment

Tags:  EAID PREF PGOV PHUM SOCI KAWC SU 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO5462
PP RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #1126/01 1341321
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 141321Z MAY 06 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2761
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KHARTOUM 001126 

SIPDIS

AIDAC
SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/SPG, PRM, AND ALSO PASS USAID/W
USAID FOR DCHA SUDAN TEAM, AF/EA, DCHA
NAIROBI FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA, USAID/REDSO, AND FAS
USMISSION UN ROME
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH
NAIROBI FOR SFO
NSC FOR JMELINE, TSHORTLEY
USUN FOR TMALY
BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID PREF PGOV PHUM SOCI KAWC SU
SUBJECT: Darfur Livelihoods Assessment


-------------------
Summary and Comment
-------------------

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KHARTOUM 001126

SIPDIS

AIDAC
SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/SPG, PRM, AND ALSO PASS USAID/W
USAID FOR DCHA SUDAN TEAM, AF/EA, DCHA
NAIROBI FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA, USAID/REDSO, AND FAS
USMISSION UN ROME
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH
NAIROBI FOR SFO
NSC FOR JMELINE, TSHORTLEY
USUN FOR TMALY
BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID PREF PGOV PHUM SOCI KAWC SU
SUBJECT: Darfur Livelihoods Assessment


--------------
Summary and Comment
--------------


1. From April 12 - 27, 2006, USAID/OFDA Livelihoods
Advisor Courtney Brown visited North and South Darfur to
monitor and evaluate USAID-funded livelihood activities.
The USAID livelihoods advisor met with partners and
visited project sites near El Fasher, North Darfur, and
Nyala, South Darfur, to assess the viability and impact
of current USAID-funded livelihood activities. Due to
security restrictions, West Darfur projects were not
assessed.


2. Looking forward, the U.S. government should support
two different sets of livelihoods activities in Darfur.
One set of activities should address the needs of IDP
camp residents through long-term capacity-building and
skill development and short-term cash-for-work and income-
generation activities. An alternate set of activities
should focus on IDP and host community agro-pastoralists
who have access to land through the provision of
agricultural inputs and protection of household assets.
Livestock restocking programs have the potential to
increase vulnerability to violent crime within
beneficiary populations and should generally be avoided
in both urban and rural areas. End summary and comment.

-------------- --------------
Setting the Scene: Livelihoods Interventions in Darfur
-------------- --------------


3. Introduction: To date in FY 2006, USAID/OFDA has
provided approximately $8.6 million to nine non-
governmental organization (NGO) implementing partners to
support livelihood program activities benefiting an
estimated 1.3 million IDPs throughout North, South, and
West Darfur. Livelihood programs currently target
populations residing in three distinct environments: IDP
camps, urban towns, and rural areas. Livelihoods
strategies are designed to assist each of these target

populations reestablish traditional livelihood patterns.


4. Contacts and Visits: While in Sudan, Mr. Brown met
with all USAID/OFDA NGO partners implementing livelihoods
activities in North and South Darfur including CHF
International, Relief International (RI),CARE, GOAL,
Action Contre la Faim (ACF),American Refugee Committee
(ARC),World Vision International, and Oxfam
International. The Livelihoods Advisor also met with the
U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),U.N.
Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS),government
officials, and other NGOs implementing livelihoods
activities in the region, but who do not currently
receive OFDA funding. The USAID Livelihoods Advisor
assessed livelihoods activities in Kalma, Abu Shouk, Al
Salaam, and Zam Zam camps; El Fasher, Nyala, and
Kebkabiya towns; and rural areas outside of Kebkabiya.
Finally, the Livelihoods Advisor met with rural
communities outside of Kebkabiya town in a focus group
setting to discuss livelihoods challenges and
opportunities.


5. Objectives: While assessing partner programs, Mr.
Brown was asked to evaluate the current strategic
direction of livelihoods programming in Darfur and
identify specific activities that effectively buffer
internally displaced persons (IDPs) against livelihood
loss or support the reestablishment of traditional and
alternative livelihood patterns. Mr. Brown was also
asked to identify NGO agencies with the capacity to scale-
up current operations pending final approval of the
congressional budget supplemental for Sudan.

--------------
Partner Analysis: Monitoring and Evaluation
--------------


6. Lack of Focus: In meetings with OFDA's NGO
implementing partners, very few NGOs voiced a clear
strategic direction for their current or anticipated
livelihoods activities. Most livelihoods programs in

KHARTOUM 00001126 002 OF 004


camp settings are comprised of income-generation and
skill-development training activities. Many income-
generation and skill-development training activities
currently employed by NGOs are unsustainable beyond the
camp setting and require significant financial investment
by the international community.


7. CHF International: OFDA partner CHF International
(CHF) supports livelihood activities centered on
community centers that host skills training, capacity
building, and income-generating activities. While some
of CHF's programs are clearly unsustainable (grinding
mills with operating costs of $900/month, distribution of
chicks where beneficiaries supply fodder after two
months, etc.),some of CHF's livelihood activities should
be sustained. CHF should expand its community animal
health worker training in an effort to increase knowledge
dissemination across a wider range of people. CHF could
also expand the use of agricultural demonstration plots
to teach improved agricultural production techniques.
Instead of trying to introduce alternative livelihoods
activities that have questionable sustainability, CHF
should be encouraged to focus on more traditional
livelihood support.


8. Relief International: OFDA partner Relief
International (RI) currently implements livelihoods
programs very similar in nature and location to CHF. In
short, both the quality of RI's programs and its
organizational capacity to scale-up activities are
questionable. Should OFDA continue to fund RI, the
organization should be encouraged to design more
traditional livelihood support activities and to
establish programs in areas currently underserved by NGO
livelihood initiatives.


9. CARE: OFDA partner CARE International implements
water and sanitation activities specifically linked to
livelihood support. CARE has located well sites
strategically to support nomadic migrations within travel
corridors. This type of activity supports livelihood
patterns of pastoralists while also reducing the
potential for conflict between herders and farmers. OFDA
should seek to increase support for activities of this
nature.


10. ACF: OFDA partner Action Contre la Faim (ACF)
implements livelihood programs that target populations in
rural areas. ACF views conflict-affected populations in
rural areas as an underserved area for humanitarian
assistance. ACF believes that livelihood support to
these rural residents could reduce the potential for
migration to urban areas and IDP camps in search of
humanitarian services. Where security allows, OFDA
should increase support to rural areas in an effort to
expand geographic coverage of livelihoods activities
while also reducing the potential for urban migration.


11. ARC: OFDA partner American Refugee Committee (ARC)
also targets populations living in rural areas. Though
ARC's capacity to scale-up current initiatives is
uncertain, the organization exhibited a solid
understanding of livelihoods challenges and opportunities
within the Darfur security context. ARC is considering
small ruminant restocking activities in rural areas.
OFDA should discuss this activity with ARC in more
detail, given the concerns regarding animal restocking
activities detailed in paragraph 20.


12. FAO: FAO will continue to play an important role in
supporting livelihoods activities in Darfur over the
coming year. Currently, OFDA partners rely on FAO to
source local seeds and to provide animal vaccinations as
part of livestock protection programs. FAO also conducts
follow-on training to complement NGO capacity-building
programs. The valuable support that FAO provides to
OFDA's NGO partners warrants continued funding.

-------------- --------------
Moving Forward: Livelihoods Program Strategy for Darfur
-------------- --------------


KHARTOUM 00001126 003 OF 004



13. Dual Strategies: In short, OFDA should support two
different sets of livelihoods activities in Darfur. One
set of activities should address the needs of IDP camp
residents while the other set should focus on IDP and
host community populations who continue to practice their
traditional livelihood patterns. In camps, livelihood
activities should be more skill-oriented and seek to
build capacity within beneficiaries' established
livelihood patterns. In towns and urban areas where
people follow traditional livelihood patterns, program
interventions should seek to sustain and expand on these
existing livelihood activities.


14. Focus on Urban Areas: The FY 2006 OFDA livelihoods
portfolio is weighted heavily towards activities in camps
and urban towns that target both IDPs and host community
populations. Activities targeting populations in rural
areas comprise only a small percentage of current
livelihoods programs. This focus on camps and towns vice
rural areas is warranted, as evidenced by continued
insecurity in Darfur's rural areas. Security threats
continue to limit NGO ability to effectively implement
programs in rural areas. However, with the signing of
the Darfur Peace Agreement, security threats in rural
areas are expected to decline.

--------------
Livelihoods Programming within IDP Camps
--------------


15. Camps as Classrooms: OFDA should expand support for
capacity-building and skill-development training in IDP
camps. As residents of many outlying villages all reside
within close proximity to one another, the camp setting
offers the ideal "classroom" for widespread knowledge
dissemination. Livelihoods interventions that emphasize
skill-development training programs should be
complemented with activities that increase the purchasing
power of displaced populations such as voucher schemes or
income-generation activities.


16. Strategic Focus: The OFDA livelihoods strategy for
camp populations should focus capacity building on agro-
pastoralism, Darfur's major traditional livelihood
activity. Agro-pastoral knowledge gained in the camp
setting could then improve farming and animal care
practices when populations return to their home setting.
OFDA implementing partner CHF International currently
trains community animal health workers to provide animal
care in several IDP camps. In doing so, the CHF program
develops and strengthens a set of skills which will
support subsistence practices following the return of
IDPs to their points of origin. Programs with similar
potential for long-term benefits include agricultural
extension services, demonstration farms, small vegetable
gardens, and drip irrigation projects.


17. Impact vs. Time Horizon: Since skill-development
training and capacity-building programs strengthen
livelihoods over extended time periods, these livelihood
interventions should be coupled with activities that
achieve a more short-term, immediate impact. Most OFDA
partners address this need through cash-for-work (CFW)
programs, voucher schemes, and/or livestock restocking
activities.


18. Cash-for-Work Programs: OFDA's livelihoods strategy
should support CFW programs that have an immediate
economic impact on IDP camp populations. These
activities should be designed around identified camp and
community needs. Currently, CFW activities are used
primarily as a mechanism to increase cash-flow of camp
residents, as opposed to a quid pro quo exchange of money
for important services rendered. OFDA should work with
implementing partners to ensure that CFW activities
produce tangible community benefits.


19. Voucher Schemes: Voucher schemes enable
humanitarian planners to track household items procured
by beneficiaries through local market mechanisms. Thus,
well-designed voucher schemes can be used as a tool to
understand the current needs of camp populations. In

KHARTOUM 00001126 004 OF 004


most cases, vouchers schemes are implemented immediately
following natural disasters or complex emergencies when
the affected population's need for enhanced purchasing
power is greatest. Careful consideration of the
viability of vouchers in the Darfur context is warranted.
GOAL, Catholic Relief Services (CRS),and Mercy Corps
International have extensive organizational experience
using voucher tracking schemes to better identify unmet
needs within camp populations.


20. Livestock Restocking Activities: Given Darfur's
unstable and insecure environment, OFDA should not
support distribution of high-value items to target
beneficiaries. Distribution of high-value items in a
community essentially creates wealth within the recipient
population, an outcome which may in fact increase
beneficiary exposure to violent crime. In the camp
setting where demand far exceeds supply, it is also
exceedingly difficult to ensure that livestock restocking
activities effectively reach beneficiaries with the
greatest needs.

-------------- ---
Livelihoods Programming in Rural Areas and Towns
-------------- ---


21. Focus on Inputs: The OFDA livelihoods strategy for
displaced populations living within host communities
should be to support existing livelihoods patterns
through the provision of livelihoods inputs such as
seeds, tools, and veterinary care. This strategy only
works when the recipient population has access to land
for farming and/or animal grazing. Where target
populations have access to land, OFDA should support
distribution of agricultural inputs in an effort to
prevent beneficiary populations from becoming dependent
on food aid.


22. Protecting Livelihoods: OFDA should also seek to
support populations that are trying to re-establish their
traditional livelihood patterns and prevent further loss
of livelihood assets. With regards to livestock, OFDA
should protect existing livestock holdings through the
training of animal health workers and by supporting
animal vaccinations campaigns through FAO.

HUME