SUDAN

United Nations and PartnersIntroductionSudan work plan 20133ForewordFrom the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian CoordinatorThis Work Plan sets out the foreseeable humanitarian needs in Sudan in 2013 and describes how the UN and its partners plan towork with the Government of Sudan and national organizations to address them. While the total number of people in need ofhumanitarian assistance has increased in the last year, the funding needs for 2013 are 8% lower than they were in 2012, reflecting anon-going effort to rationalise humanitarian response and to further improve efficiency through careful prioritisation and selectionof projects.The Work Plan is based on extensive consultations and the most up-to-date assessments of humanitarian needs. I welcome inparticular the efforts that have been made to consult closely with Government counterparts, including the Humanitarian AidCommission (HAC) and relevant line ministries, at all stages in the preparation of this document.We must remember that Sudan continues to face enormous social, political and economic challenges. The conflict in SouthKordofan and Blue Nile has affected over a million people with the result that the overall number of people in need of humanitarianassistance in Sudan is now higher than it was a year ago. While there have been some positive developments, with over 200,000internally displaced people and refugees having returned to their homes in Darfur over the last two years, some 4.3 millionpeople, or 12% of the population of Sudan, are still in need of humanitarian assistance.As we move into the tenth year of the humanitarian response in Darfur, we must do more to help deliver durable solutions andto strengthen national capacity to plan for and respond to humanitarian needs. This requires a shift in focus from short-terminterventions, such as distributions of food and non-food items, towards activities that reduce long-term dependency on aid.At the same time, we must ensure that the needs of the most vulnerable people in Sudan continue to be met with timely andeffective emergency relief wherever this is needed.We have important work to do in the year ahead to help vulnerable people including all those who have been traumatized byconflict and other disasters. We count on the Government of Sudan to continue to support humanitarian action and to ensurethat there is an enabling environment that will allow immediate humanitarian needs to be met while moving increasingly fromrelief to recovery and development. We thank all the donors who contributed generously to the humanitarian operation in Sudanin 2012 and we encourage more Governments and private donors around the world to continue funding life-saving humanitarianactivities in Sudan.Mr. Ali Al-Za'tariUnited Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator