A revolutionary aid network

"From the first bullet to the moment I’m writing this tweet, not a single government agency or any other body has paid attention to the Sudanese people in conflict zones except the committees' emergency rooms. Young men and women have risked their lives for a year and a half to provide food, medicine and social services for thousands of Sudanese people." - Moe Faisal, via X.

On Saturday, 15 April 2023, the Sudanese people woke up to the sound of gunfire, marking the start of what has become an urgent, brutal war and the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

The events unfolding in Sudan are the result of a power struggle between Sudanese Army General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces led by General Hemedti. This clash created one of the largest global refugee crises—over 14.6 million have been displaced amid widespread famine.  

A few days after the war started, Sudanese social media was flooded with urgent calls for help in evacuating people from the conflict zones in Khartoum. These calls quickly evolved into a collective grassroots response, dedicated to meeting the basic needs of people trapped in these areas. 

Volunteer networks known as the Emergency Response Rooms mobilised in response to this crisis, as citizens and activists organised together to provide vital humanitarian assistance. 

Grassroots organisation: from resistance to relief

The ERRs first appeared during Sudan's 2018 December Revolution as a loose and spontaneous support structure. At first, they benefitted from the communal networks that had already been created by groups known as the Neighbourhood Resistance Committees (NRCs), which had played a central role in the revolution—leading political dissent, mobilising neighbourhoods, organising protests and communal campaigns, including initiatives to clean and rehabilitate local spaces. 

The ERRs became the functional arm of the NRCs. They provided urgent assistance in highly complex circumstances, facing extreme surveillance, targeting and internet and media blackouts. 

The EERs' role was further crystallised following the violent crackdown in June 2019 on the large sit-in near the Sudanese army headquarters in Khartoum. Protesters occupied the space since 6 April, and witnessed the ousting of Omar Al-Bashir on 11 April from the sit-in, after which it continued to be an important space for resistance until its violent dispersal. 

The NRCs around Khartoum mobilised local ERRs to de-escalate tensions, provide logistical support and, most importantly, provide medical attention to the victims of the crackdown. 

When war broke out in April 2023, the ERRs started coordinating on a national level to provide humanitarian assistance, supporting local hospitals, establishing neighbourhood emergency hubs and creating communal kitchens to meet the basic needs of Sudanese citizens.  

The main drive behind both the ERRs and the NRCs is serving and protecting local communities. Their operation model is completely decentralised and based on grassroots, communal infrastructure—each area or neighbourhood has its own ERR, operating independently yet coordinating with the larger network of other entities across Sudan.  

This collective ethos was inspired by the notion of nafeer, an Arabic word commonly used in Sudan which refers to a communal practice of rapid, collective organisation to help one another within a community or neighbourhood. Nafeer is rooted in Sudanese culture, where collective action is deployed to tackle social and economic hardships.  

In Sudan, mutual aid and solidarity have long been central to how communities survive and resist—whether through establishing mobile clinics and first aid rooms during protests, building systems to deliver medicine, bread, food, and gas during the COVID-19 pandemic, or organizing food drives and collective efforts to clean and rebuild local infrastructure. These everyday acts are both vital forms of resistance and essential for sustaining life and rebuilding after a crisis. 

ERRs under pressure due to lack of international aid

"Recently, the exchange rate has increased, along with the price of food, supplies and rent. The situation is getting more difficult, especially with the lack of jobs, internet outages and the disruption of donations. Many people are entirely dependent on central kitchens, schools are overcrowded with families and children (across all states). There is barely any documentation of what’s happening in the schools or of the dire humanitarian and health conditions in Sudan" Abushama via X.

The ERRs' presence and their work amidst extreme violence have been critical from the first weeks of the war. Those who were unable to leave their homes in Khartoum, and across the country, depended on volunteers' efforts to provide medical care, organise communal kitchens, restore electricity and keep infrastructure running as smoothly as the situation allowed.  

The importance of ERRs became even more obvious as the international flow of both humanitarian and financial aid was disrupted after multiple organisations suspended their activities across conflict-affected areas.

The humanitarian situation has been aggravated by the communications blackout over Sudan since the beginning of the war, coupled with the targeting of journalists, the destruction of banking and financial technology infrastructure, as well as the deteriorating international political and economic climate. The result is the complete isolation of Sudan and the Sudanese people, who have ceased to receive aid through institutional channels. 

Internally, the scale of the challenges faced by the ERRs is ever-growing. As grassroots volunteers continue to risk their lives daily to deliver aid and feed populations across war-torn states, they face a growing scarcity of resources and continuous targeting, harassment and criminalisation by both warring parties.

As the war has progressed it has become increasingly difficult for ERRs to coordinate due to logistical hurdles like roadblacks, besieged areas and limited supplies of medicine, fuel and food. 

Reimagining humanitarian aid

In the face of these challenges, the ERRs' grassroots aid model reflects a deep understanding of local community needs. They have proved a striking ability to innovate, adapt and inspire similar support networks across the Sudanese diaspora, which has become a vital pillar of support in a climate of extreme international isolation and neglect. 

Diaspora-led initiatives and spaces have successfully supported the ERRs' operations where international organisations have faltered, providing financial and logistical support and spearheading awareness and advocacy campaigns. This transnational collaboration highlights the immense potential of grassroots efforts and mutual aid, both locally and within the diaspora.

The Emergency Response Rooms have profoundly reshaped Sudan's humanitarian landscape, highlighting the resilience, expertise and power of local agency. Unlike traditional aid models, ERRs decentralise decision-making and distribution, relying on neighbourhood committees to assess needs, consult local communities, distribute supplies and mobilise resources through community networks. 

They adapt humanitarian efforts by using local knowledge, for example, to secure safe supply routes, to turn schools into shelters, to source medicine from informal suppliers (particularly diaspora networks)—all efforts based on leveraging social trust. 

This culturally embedded approach ensures assistance aligns with social dynamics and is widely dispersed. ERRs truly exemplify how crisis response can be swift, adaptive and sustainable when rooted in grassroots structures, offering a salient model for rethinking global humanitarian aid.