The African Red Sea Region does not produce enough food to feed its own population. Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somaliland (Somalia) are each reliant on imports to make up for domestic production shortfalls. This presents unresolved challenges to the food security of the region. The regional food system is currently in crisis because it is reliant on the international grain trade.…

Since the collapse of Siyad Barre’s secular regime in 1991, religious leaders and organizations have come to wield considerable influence on Somalia’s politics, and in some cases have assumed the role of major humanitarian actors. From 2009 to 2012, a religious leader – Sharif Sheikh Ahmed – even assumed the presidency. These trends have not always been well understood, for…

Urbanization in the Somali territories is transforming Somali society in multiple and profound ways, with the growth of urban centres and networks paralleled by new patterns of accumulation, investment, redistribution, inclusion and exclusion. This report raises questions concerning the welfare of urban residents, the sustainability of these cities, and how best to respond to their fragility…

War, Migration and Work examines the history of labour migration and labour relations in present day South Sudan's Baher El-Ghazal borderlands with Darfur and Kordofan (regions of present day Sudan).

جاء تصميم العملية الانتقالية في السودان لتؤدي إلى - وتتقدم من خلال - انتخابات قومية تثبت نجاح ومصداقية الانتقال السياسي. لكن هذا الأمر ينطوي على مخاطر كبيرة.  يُحدّد هذا التقرير سلسلة من المجالات الرئيسية التي يجب اتخاذ قرارات بخصوصها عند تصميم العملية الانتخابية، وكيفية دعم تلك القرارات. كما يُحدّد الخيارات المختلفة، ويناقش الآثار المترتبة على البدائل الممكنة

Until the latter part of the twentieth century, South Sudanese boys and girls grew food on household farms for their families to eat. Under this system, children’s work and education were hard to distinguish. Today, however, many boys and girls work for money outside of their household farm and use the money to support their education in schools. Child Labour, Education and…

Voting for Change: Elections and Political Transformation in Sudan report identifies a series of key areas in which decisions need to be taken around the design of the electoral process, and support for this. It lays out different options and discusses the implications of the possible alternatives. This report does not offer direct recommendations. There is no one model of a perfect election,…

Despite the growing role of women in the khat economy, this report exposes the social, political, and economic determinants of gender inequality within Somali-speaking regions through reflecting on their participation in a lucrative trading sector like that of khat .