The theme of Blog Action Day this year is inequality. Inequality can take many forms. One of the most basic is economic inequality. This is a topical issue at the moment. The publication of Thomas Piketty’s “Capital in the twenty-first century” prompted a wide-ranging debate around his central argument that inequality has increased over the last two decades in the developed world due to the inherent nature of advanced capitalism. There’s quite a bit of argument over both his theory and his empirical evidence. But there is no doubt that economic inequality is a pressing issue between and within nations.
Statistics on inequality in Sudan are difficult to come by. But we all know that there is a great deal of poverty. It is also clear from looking at Sudan’s cities, successful companies, agribusinesses and over a decade of oil production that Sudan is capable of generating wealth and prosperity. So why the inequality?
Part of the answer is conflict. War is expensive and impoverishes those who are directly affected. There are now more than two million internally displaced people in Sudan, many of them living in very basic conditions. That is why helping to end conflict is such a high priority for the UK in Sudan. It is frustrating that the planned talks between the Government and rebel troops to discuss potential ceasefires and/or cessation of hostilities in Darfur and the Two Areas have been postponed. We hope that they take place soon and are successful in pre-empting renewed fighting as the rainy season comes to an end.
Meanwhile, we are intervening directly to support those directly affected by conflict. In Darfur, DFID has contributed £21.9 million to the World Food Programme to provide vulnerable people with food vouchers. DFID also supports the Common Humanitarian Fund (£17 million this year) which funds NGOs and UN agencies to deliver basic needs interventions, including emergency nutrition, water and sanitation, and health services.
But poverty is not confined to conflict areas. According to the UN, some 750,000 children in Sudan suffer from Severe Acute Malnutrition every year, putting them at high risk of death. Access to basic services such as health and education in many parts of the country is very poor. Here too we are trying to help. DFID water and sanitation projects aim to provide half a million people in Eastern Sudan with access to sustainable clean drinking water sources, improved sanitation facilities, and hygiene promotion by 2018.
Making a sustained and long term impact on poverty will require a major effort by the Government of Sudan, supported by the international community. This is the basis for the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, which is Sudan’s route to debt relief. It is a route that has already been successfully travelled by 35 countries. Its basic premise is that debt relief will only deliver long term benefits if it is accompanied, indeed preceded, by sustainable macro-economic management with a focus on poverty reduction.
Sudan has made a start with the drawing up of an interim Poverty Reduction Strategy and the adoption of an IMF Staff Monitored Programme. Now a significant chunk of Government resources needs to be switched to poverty alleviation, and the cause of conflict (and associated poverty) addressed. This is a big agenda, but as the Government moves forward to deliver it they will find they have the support of the international community to do so.
The private sector is a big driver of wealth creation and poverty reduction. I was struck during a recent visit to Gedaref how large, successful agribusinesses sit alongside impoverished small holders. There are many successful, professional businesses in Sudan. We want to work with them, and support the small-holders, by looking for ways to develop supply chain connections between the two, to the benefit of both. This work is still in the design phase but is one of a number of programmes aimed at helping Sudan to help itself by making more use of its undoubted talents and resources.
Poverty is above all a huge injustice. It blights and curtails lives. It is also a huge waste of economic resource. The millions of Sudanese poor are victims of conflict, misdirection of resource, and gross economic inequality. But they are also an opportunity for Sudan. The Government must lead the way in addressing the underlying causes of poverty, ending conflict and creating an environment in which all Sudanese can generate, and benefit from, national prosperity.