Explosive Ordnance Risk Education for Returning Civilians in Sudan

Reference: SUD/UNMAS/25036/2025/002/1 Background, Rationale and Objectives of the Grant/funding Since the outbreak of conflict in Sudan in 2023, the humanitarian situation has continued to deteriorate, with no resolution in sight.

In late 2024 and early 2025, key urban centers, including Khartoum, were recaptured by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), prompting the mass return of civilians. Humanitarian actors, including UN agencies, are re-establishing their presence in these newly accessible areas to resume aid delivery.

However, these cities and surrounding communities remain heavily contaminated with explosive ordnance (EO), the result of extensive use of explosive weapons during the fighting. This contamination poses a grave threat to returning civilians and aid workers alike.

Explosive ordnance on roads, in markets, schools, and health facilities continue to deny safe access to essential services and obstruct humanitarian operations, while also delaying early recovery and reconstruction efforts.

In this context, Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) is a critical protection measure to mitigate the threat of EO where clearance is not immediately possible, or to complement the ongoing but often limited clearance efforts.

By raising awareness of risks and promoting safe behavior, EORE helps reduce accidents and enables civilians and humanitarian actors to better navigate contaminated environments until more comprehensive clearance can take place.

The scale of EO threat is extremely large and there is an urgent need to expand indirectly delivered (one-way) EORE to reach more civilians with lifesaving messages through appropriate and feasible communication channels (e.g. radio, digital platforms, billboard, print or other locally relevant media) and with new, adapted EORE materials.

The objective of this Grant is to: Reduce the threat and impact of explosive ordnance in conflict-affected areas of Sudan by improving awareness of EO risks and safer practices among affected communities through indirect delivery (one-way) EORE.

Under this objective, the Grant will support the development and dissemination of accurate, context-appropriate EORE messages through multi-media and mass communication approaches in highly-contaminated areas and where population movements are high, with a focus on densely populated settings.

Indirect EORE activities will focus on reaching at-risk populations with clear, practical and actionable risk-education messages using appropriate materials and communication channels, including radio, digital platforms and print media, adapted to local contexts and patterns of information access.

The Grant focuses exclusively on indirect delivery EORE and does not include the direct provision of interpersonal or face-to-face EORE activities.

The project integrates gender, age, and disability-sensitive approaches to ensure that indirect delivery (one way) EORE messaging and delivery methods are inclusive and accessible to women, men, boys, and girls, recognizing that exposure to EO risks and access to information often differ by gender, age and vulnerability.

By embedding risk education into wider humanitarian programming and leveraging different communication channels, the project will also contribute to the protection of displaced and returning populations, and to more inclusive and locally-led EORE response for conflict-affected communities. Please refer to the attached Call for Proposals (CfP) document for details.