Commodification and Conflict in the Horn of Africa Borderlands
This report synthesizes findings from the Rift Valley Institute’s X-Border Local Research Network (2019–2025). In the surveyed studies, 25 leading local and international area specialists conducted extensive qualitative fieldwork across borderlands in South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya and the Somali territories. Drawing on interviews with hundreds of interlocutors, these studies investigate the causes and consequences […]
Political Economy of Cash and Markets in Sudan
The research provides a snapshot of the war in Sudan in the period from February to April 2025. However, the war is dynamic, with political alliances and territorial control changing. The April 2023 conflict between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) marks the most horrible chapter in Sudan’s modern […]
2025 Year in Review
The 2025 Year in Review provides an overview of the Rift Valley Institute’s work over the past year across eastern and central Africa. The report highlights RVI’s research and publication outputs, education and training activities, and public forums and convenings, alongside regional trends shaping the Institute’s work. It includes summaries of programme activity in Ethiopia, […]
Beyond Research: Who funds knowledge
Episode 5 – Beyond Research: Who Funds Knowledge | Rift Valley Radio Who decides what counts as research, and whose voices shape the global knowledge agenda? In the fifth episode of the Beyond Series, we turn to the politics of knowledge production, funding, and power in global research systems. Hosted by Jason Mosley, the episode […]
Beyond Labour: Gendered work, survival and shifting economies
Episode 4 – Beyond Series | Rift Valley Radio How do women navigate work, trade, and survival in conflict-affected borderlands? In the fourth episode of the Beyond Series, we turn to women’s labour and cross-border trade as a lens for understanding resilience, gender roles and shifting economies in the Horn of Africa’s borderlands. Featuring research […]
Rethinking Aid in Sudan and South Sudan
The brief draws on a joint convening held in Kampala, Uganda, in November 2025, which brought together more than 45 Sudanese and South Sudanese participants representing more than 30 grassroots organizations and international NGOs. Its primary objective is to amplify the perspectives of national civil society actors and ground policy recommendations in lived humanitarian realities. […]
From Charity to Solidarity: Rethinking Aid in Sudan and South Sudan – Charting Policy Directions
Format: Hybrid ForumDate: Wednesday, 10 December 2025Time: 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM EATVenue: BIEA, Laikipia Road, Kileleshwa Background The steep decline in international aid has created severe challenges for the humanitarian and development sectors in Sudan and South Sudan. While the full impact is still unfolding, emerging evidence paints a dire picture marked by soaring needs amid dwindling support. More than 20 […]
Rethinking Peacemaking in Sudan
Format: Hybrid Forum Date: Saturday, 6 December 2025 Time: 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM EAT Venue: BIEA, Laikipia Road, Kileleshwa Despite more than five decades of peace initiatives, Sudan’s succession of agreements—from Addis Ababa in 1972 to Juba in 2020—has not delivered sustained stability. Each accord promised an end to conflict but faltered amid limited political will, weak implementation and […]
From Charity to Solidarity: Kampala workshop calls for a new vision of aid in Sudan and South Sudan
On 4–5 November 2025, civil society leaders, community groups, researchers, women’s networks and humanitarian practitioners from Sudan and South Sudan gathered in Kampala for a landmark workshop on Rethinking Aid in both countries. Convened by Norwegian People’s Aid–Sudan, Detcro, ODI Global and the Rift Valley Institute (RVI), the workshop provided a neutral and participatory platform […]
The Role of Culture in Conflict and Peacebuilding among the Balanda and Jurchol Communities in Western Bahr el Ghazal
The aim of this ethnographic study is to explore the role played by cultural expressions in conflict and peacebuilding in South Sudan, with specific reference to song, dance and beadwork. This study aims to understand how symbolic communication is used to shape individual identities, values and societies in Western Bahr el Ghazal, together with how […]