Despite significant development potential and natural resources, Sudan has been beleaguered by conflict since independence in 1956. In 2011, Sudan lost a third of its territory and 75 percent of its oil fields when South Sudan became independent, an outcome of Africa’s longest civil war (1983-2005). In 2016, the United States began intensified diplomatic engagement to help facilitate meaningful reform in Sudan, including expanding humanitarian access. As a result, the United States lifted certain economic sanctions in October 2017, followed by initiation of a second phase of diplomatic engagement that requires improving human rights protections and practices.

Economic crises resulting from mismanagement, corruption, inconsistent policies, and weak structural transformation the government adopted in 2018 sparked citizen protests that began in December 2018 and spread nationwide, leading to the military’s removal in April 2019 of President Omar al-Bashir, who took power in a 1989 coup, and establishment of a Transitional Military Council.

USAID remains the largest donor of humanitarian assistance to the people of Sudan after decades of assisting the Sudanese through conflict, famine, and ongoing emergency needs, and maintains a development portfolio focused on conflict mitigation and support for civil society, including women, youth, and people with disabilities.