Food Security Framework | Gaps in Knowledge

• Lack of regular monitoring and ground-truthing: There is little regular or systematic collection and shared analysis of critical information on food access. There is a continued dependence on one-off annual needs or crop assessments, yet these are not followed up by regular assessments to validate projections made during the annual assessments.The regular monitoring system is localized to drought-prone areas in Darfur, Kordofan and the Red Sea by UN agencies and NGOs.
• Need for updated and expanded baseline livelihood profiles: These are needed to understand how people are earning a living, the main hazards, and the main response strategies over most of Sudan. The main gaps in understanding are in Central Sudan, South Kordofan, and northern areas of Sudan. Also, portions of existing livelihood baselines such as market and income access should be updated. In Darfur in particular, there is a lack of understanding of how the livelihoods of conflict-affected people in Darfur have evolved over the past seven years.
• Poor knowledge of urban food insecurity issues: Little is known of urban populations and their livelihoods, which hinders appropriate planning and preparedness for emergency urban targeted interventions. Increased population movements and returns are likely to create significant rural-urban migration that could rapidly result in urban food insecurity.
• Insufficient understanding of root causes of malnutrition: It is generally assumed that food is the main cause of chronic malnutrition in Sudan, yet non-food factors such as disease, unsafe water, poor sanitation, and hygiene play a significant role.