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00:00 Now in Sudan over a year of battling between rival generals is feeding one of the world's
00:04 worst humanitarian disasters.
00:06 Over 8 million people have been displaced since the army and the RSF paramilitary forces
00:11 began their power struggle.
00:13 Tens of thousands of people have been killed.
00:16 Millions are on the brink of famine.
00:18 Now just last month France hosted a conference to boost international aid donations.
00:23 There's only 5% a fraction of the UN's 3.8 billion euro target had at that point been
00:31 delivered.
00:33 But some local aid groups operating on the ground in Sudan struggle to access even the
00:38 little such funding available and they say that there is an urgent need for change in
00:44 the mindset behind the global humanitarian system.
00:47 So for more on this I'm now joined by Dr. Maha Suleiman from the Sudanese American Physicians
00:53 Association.
00:54 Maha, thanks so much for making the time to speak to me.
00:57 Now first of all what are some of these limitations of this global top-down approach to humanitarian
01:03 support that you think is particularly problematic and what do you want to see change with regards
01:09 to that?
01:10 Thank you so much for having me.
01:13 I mean obviously we want to see all these millions promised be carried through and the
01:18 actual funding is delivered but I also feel like you know I think recognizing Sudanese
01:25 and local organizations as partners for effective aid delivery is critical at this time.
01:32 I know this has been talked about by the international organizations for a long time now.
01:39 However in reality we as Sudanese grassroots organization we have not seen it.
01:45 I mean we are the ones who are deeply interrelated with the communities affected by the war.
01:50 I'm talking about neighborhoods we lived in and friends we grew up with and our own families
01:57 left behind.
01:59 You know we have a deep understanding of the social and the cultural aspects of these communities
02:06 but we have not seen a real commitment for partnership unfortunately.
02:12 So I feel like if we want to talk about effective aid delivery not only in the like immediate
02:18 relief efforts but more sustainable interventions like empowering local leaders and building
02:26 those community resiliences I feel like entrusting local organizations like SAPA and Hadrin and
02:33 others with direct funding is a must.
02:36 So just break it down for us.
02:38 Why are organizations like the Sudanese American Physician Association not getting the kind
02:43 of money that we see talked about at these kind of big international donation drives
02:50 as we saw here in France?
02:53 So I mean there is partnership with the UN organizations in some projects but there is
02:58 no direct funding.
02:59 I think historically the argument was that local partners there's concerns about impartiality
03:06 and accountability of the local partners which I believe does not stand as a strong argument
03:14 because for instance the Sudanese American Physician Association SAPA just got the candid
03:20 platinum transparency award which automatically ranked this organization in the top 0.1% for
03:28 you know in terms of transparency and accountability and we have been bridging huge gaps especially
03:34 in the healthcare sector since the war has started and we're still present in Sudan on
03:40 the ground and working.
03:41 Hadrin for example is an organization that provides food assistance to a lot of the displaced
03:49 populations and they have consistently showed their value and that they can do this.
03:55 However the trust is not there for us to provide to receive direct funding unfortunately.
04:01 And do you think that you have actually made enough of an impact that makes you feel happy
04:07 with the role that you're doing within the stretches of the current setup?
04:12 Absolutely.
04:13 I feel like I can speak for SAPA.
04:16 SAPA has naturally worked in the healthcare field where 80% of the healthcare facilities
04:24 were out of service since the start of the war in 2000 I mean in April 2023.
04:31 So there's a tremendous work through extensive network and personnel on the ground to bridge
04:37 the gap and continue healthcare services especially to women and children.
04:42 I mean the gap is unfortunately still huge but we are the main healthcare providers in
04:47 four large states at this time and our priority is to expand to other states and maybe you
04:55 know kind of restore more of the specialized services.
04:59 You know we managed to do that through the challenges and the very fluid dangerous situation
05:07 through direct funding of healthcare facilities and healthcare workers.
05:13 So SAPA has supported like 25 healthcare facilities since the beginning of the war.
05:19 And in addition to other things like mobile clinics in the IEDP camps and supplies and
05:25 food and nutrition service actually in Eastern Chad SAPA is the only Sudanese organization
05:31 that is providing food assistance at this time.
05:35 So I think we've proven our value through all the interventions that we have been doing
05:42 and we partnered with the UNICEF and other UN organizations you know because we gained
05:49 some of that trust by the work and the accountability we have shown so far.
05:54 Thank you so much.
05:55 Malha Suleiman there from the Sudanese American Physician Association working with grassroots
06:03 organizations in Sudan to try and get help and medical care to those caught up with the
06:07 fallout from the year-long war.