Durable Solutions Analysis Survey: Blue Nile State, 2021

Protracted and new displacements of large numbers of people as well as complex conflict dynamics continue to be a major issue in Darfur. In 2020, an estimated 2.5 million people were internally displaced and close to 400,000 Darfuris refugees resided in neighbouring countries. The political transition following years of conflict paved the way for the signing of the Juba Peace Agreement (JPA) in 2020. The peace agreement aims to address the root causes of conflict but also establishes durable solutions for displaced populations as a necessity for lasting peace in Darfur. In 2021, the Government furthermore initiated work on a National Strategy on Solutions, which will offer a critical strategic framework and operational roadmap towards solutions for displaced communities in Sudan.
In 2017, the Government of Sudan (GoS) and the international community agreed on the need to collectively support Durable Solutions for IDPs, returnees, and their host communities to end the situation of protracted displacement. The collaboration on Durable Solutions between the GoS and international community resulted in two Durable Solution pilots in respectively El Fasher (North Darfur) and Um Dukhun (Central Darfur).
JIPS provided technical support for the scale-up of the durable solutions analysis across Darfur under the Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF). Focusing on nine localities, including urban areas, the data collection exercises build directly on the durable solutions analysis approach piloted in El Fasher in 2019. The Durable Solutions Working Group (DSWG) identified a joint evidence base and a collaborative approach as priorities and therefore undertook a joint area-based profiling exercise, focusing on the Abu Shouk and El Salaam IDP camps on the outskirts of El Fasher. The focus was set on profiling of IDPs (in camp settlements and out of camps), IDP returnees, refugee returnees, and non-displaced. The profiling exercises are aimed at:
i.Informing CERF programming and Action Plan development in each state/locality;
ii.Provide the baseline of the agreed upon CERF outcome/output indicators (for later measurement of impact); and
iii.Inform broader UNHCR programming beyond the Fund.