"All out of Sudan within 12 months"

President Omar Al-Bashir of the Republic of Sudan has just anounced that every foreign aid organisation have to end their aid work within one year in all of Sudan.

What this means to the Norwegian Red Cross support to Sudanese Red Crescent programmes is most likely nothing. I hope and think it will be able to resume since it is within a national organisation of Sudan. But I am not sure.

For the youth delegate programme in Sudan I hope it has the same destiny. It will be able to endure despite the throw out of all aid organisations because of its foundation inside the Sudanese Red Crescent. I hope. But I am not sure.

Everybody is working hard in order to understand exactly what this means in field and every day operation solutions. Maybe nobody right now knows what this will mean to the people who rely on the current aid. They are in the millions. The projects in the hundreds, at least. We are talking about a country on the size of Spain, France and maybe even a part of Germany. I haven`t had time to check my geography properly. I am going to the IFRC offices now.

In my recent talks with UNDP in Khartoum it was clear that oversight was just beginning to get established after the 13 international and three national organisations was shut down with all their belongings confiscated. Hopefully their belonings will be returned to them after concluded investigations. My point allthough is that today UNDP and all other organisations including our own international bodies, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and International Comittee if the Red Cross (ICRC) is to my guess working hard to find out what this means exactly and how we can help the suffering and needy from this point. This means: There is proberly chaos and meetings on a string at all offices today and the coming period ahead of us. 

Wish us all good luck and give the people of Sudan our prayers/best wishes for a swift and sustainable change to other approved organisations who can reach the people.

VG, VG & VG Norwegian newspaper articles.

All the best from a deeply worried

Thomas