Collecting Micro & Macro level data for Durable Solutions Analysis in Sudan: Interview with Khadra Elmi, Profiling Advisor

A lot has happened since July 2017 when we last reported back from the Sudan profiling exercise. At the time we were working with partners to select context-relevant indicators using the Durable Solutions Indicator Library, for a comprehensive durable solutions analysis of the displacement situation in Sudan.

We asked Khadra Elmi, JIPS’ Profiling Advisor who is currently on a long-term deployment in the country, to update us on the advancement of the profiling process. The exercise uses an area-based approach, looking at two camps – Abu Shouk and Al Salam – where IDPs live in a protracted situation, as well as neighbouring communities and the wider urban area of El Fasher.

The durable solutions analysis combines two main components:

• At the micro level: a household survey to better understand communities’ preferences for durable solutions, as well as obstacles and opportunities to attain them; this includes comparing IDPs and non-displaced communities;
• At the macro level: an urban and village profiling, working directly with the Ministry of Planning of El Fasher, to inform local urban development planning processes.

The collaborative exercise brings a wide range of partners to work together, including:

• Government institutions: the Sudanese Government’s National Committee on Durable Solutions, namely the Humanitarian Aid Commission, the Voluntary Return and Resettlement Commission, Central Bureau for Statistics and the Ministry of Physical Planning in El Fasher; and
• Members of the Durable Solutions Information Management Working Group: IOM,UNDP, UNHCR, WFP, UNICEF, OCHA, UN-Habitat and the INGO Forum.

The pilot exercise will be carried out in partnership with the World Bank, who also contributes technical expertise on poverty analysis of the situation of IDPs in several other countries in the region

Take 6 minutes and have a listen to Khadra, to hear more.