Two projects focusing on water, health, and sanitation will increase aid provided by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) to internally displaced persons, or IDPs, in the Darfur region of Sudan.

The Water Access Capacity Building project, funded by the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) through ADRA Denmark, will focus on 80,000 IDPs who fled fighting in their home villages and are now living in camps in and around Geneina in West Darfur. The project will provide safe drinking water through the drilling, rehabilitating, and installation of 110 hand pump wells. Two hand pump mechanics will be trained for each well to ensure they continue to function properly.

“There are approximately 200,000 people now living in Geneina Locality,” said Birgit Philipsen, country director for ADRA Denmark.  “The town of El Geneina normally supports a population of 50,000 to 70,000 people, but with the influx of 100,000 IDPs, the current water supplies and sanitation facilities are greatly stressed,” he added.

The U.S. $1.2 million project will also train community health promoters to teach IDPs about health and hygiene issues. This will reduce the number of water-borne and hygiene-related diseases and deaths.

The second project, valued at more than U.S. $400,000 focuses on sanitation. It is funded by the German Foreign Ministry through ADRA Germany, and will provide 44,000 IDPs in Mukjar, Deleji, and Um Dukan with 2,250 pit latrines.

“Providing these latrines is an important step in reducing disease among such a large concentrations of IDPs living in Darfur,” said Erich Lischek, country director for ADRA Germany. “But this in itself is not enough. That’s why ADRA will also train community health promoters to raise awareness and increase the use of healthy hygiene practices in the community,” Lischek continued.

ADRA has helped IDPs in Darfur through other activities as well. ADRA Sudan constructed 1,250 pit latrines at IDP camps in Geneina Locality, also funded by the German Foreign Ministry through ADRA Germany. An estimated 12,000 IDPs received clothing, seeds and farm equipment while an additional 45,000 were provided with 35 metric tons of relief items including blankets, tarpaulins, therapeutic food and medicine.

ADRA is present in more than 120 countries providing individual and community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age, or ethnicity. Additional information about ADRA can be found at www.adra.org.