UPDATE: The Government of Sudan has ordered the closure of International Rescue Committee humanitarian aid programs in Darfur as well as North and East Sudan — a decision that stops the IRC from delivering life-saving aid to more than 1.75 million men, women and children.

Sudan, Africa's largest country, has been divided by civil war almost constantly since it gained independence in 1956. While the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in 2005 ended decades of fighting between the north and south, communities are still struggling to rebuild after years of devastation claimed countless lives and wrecked vital infrastructure. At the same time, violence continues to plague Darfur in the west of Sudan. Brutal fighting there has left an estimated 200,000 people dead and forced more than 2.5 million people to flee their homes.

How We Help

The International Rescue Committee has been operating in Sudan since 1981, aiding communities hit by conflict or natural disaster, and helping to rebuild in areas of post-conflict.  In Southern Sudan – effectively a semi-autonomous country since 2005 – the IRC now directly helps more than 450,000 people with essential services including healthcare, special medical care for children under five, protection and measures to tackle violence against women. The IRC was also delivering humanitarian aid to around 2 million people in Darfur, North and East Sudan until March 2009. A decision by the Government of Sudan to expel the IRC and 12 other international aid agencies effectively halted these programs overnight.  IRC programs in Sudan >

See Photos from Southern Sudan on the IRC Voices from the Field Blog.  PLUS Joanne Offer's blog from Sudan on AlertNet.