Over 40% of households in Sudan do not have access to basic water services.

Two of the Gulf nation’s biggest charity organisations have mobilised efforts to help over 45,000 people in-need Sudan with irrigation and water projects.

This comes as worrying statistics from the World Bank revealed that around 40% of Sudanese households lack access to basic water services, while 67% of the population lacks access to basic sanitation.

Such numbers pose a serious threat to health and livelihoods in the African nation.

For this reason, Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) allocated $662,989 earlier this year to construct eight water plants across several areas in North Kordofan. The project was then completed with coordination with the Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) and the North Kordofan Water Authority.

In total, over 40,000 locals will benefit from the plants, the charity stated.

The targeted area has relatively limited access to groundwater. On a daily basis, the community faces significant challenges in obtaining clean water for drinking, personal use, and livestock watering – a major source of revenue in such remote locations.

Such conditions have had a significant impact on public health and have increased time and effort spent locating water sources in nearby communities.

QRCS’s latest project will help with safe and potable water, significantly improving their economic and health conditions while also lowering death and morbidity rates as a result of water-borne diseases.

This is also expected to benefit animals in the area.

Local community leaders and beneficiaries said the water plants will “free their women and children” of the burden of searching for and transporting water from remote regions.

More effort will also be implemented in the upcoming years to ensure those in need in Sudan are receiving the relief aid they require to lead a quality life, head of the charity’s office, Dr. Awadallah Hamdan Al-Siddiq assured.

Supporting Sudan’s farmers

QRCS is not the only charity looking to assist the vulnerable community in Sudan.

In support of the agriculture industry in El Gezira State, Qatar Charity (QC) has donated an irrigation unit and a water pipeline to help over 5,000 people in the area.

The latest project has helped to alleviate struggles for hundreds of farmer, allowing them to resume production that supplies vegetables and fruits to local markets at reasonable prices.

After repairing and sustainably irrigating the land, farmers were able to produce higher-quality mangos and grapefruits thanks to QC’s assistance.

The adoption of contemporary irrigation systems has also allowed them to increase their production, the charity stated.