The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)
Japan and UNOPS continue their support to Sudan by repairing flood-damaged schools and health clinics
Heavy flooding in North Darfur devastated the area, impacting local health and educational services.
With $750,000 in funding from the Japanese Government, the project focused on improving flood-damaged school facilities and health clinics, as well as protecting them from further deterioration.
UNOPS implemented the project on behalf of the Government of Japan.
With special attention paid to disaster risk reduction measures to improve flood resiliency, the project included the repair or construction of: 36 classrooms and offices in six schools; 42 verandas designed to protect students from the scorching sun; 15 rooms in two health clinics; and fences and walls to surround the buildings.
With additional space for nearly 530 students and more than 1,000 patients, the project will help the local government deliver improved services to the local community.
More than 500 people attended the handover ceremony, including Japanese Ambassador Hideki Ito; Mr. Eyob Getachew, Head of UNOPS in Sudan; and high-level representatives from the Government of Sudan, in addition to students, parents and teachers from Dar El Salam Girls Primary School.
Headmistress Amna Ahmed Mokhtar expressed gratitude to the Government of Japan for its support and to UNOPS for the completed work.
Caption
- A classroom in the Dar El Salam Girls Primary School (El Fasher, North Darfur) devastated by flood damage in 2014 ('Before') and the rehabilitated classroom ('After'). ©UNOPS
Before the project, the school was facing a number of problems, including lack of space for students to learn, flood damage and deteriorating classrooms. But now the students, teachers and parents are enjoying the improved school facilities.
At the handover ceremony, Ambassador Ito spoke of the role the project played in promoting good governance.
“I am happy and proud to be given the opportunity to assist the people of El Fasher and Sudan in general to provide their children with invaluable learning opportunities,” Ambassador Ito said. “It is my strong and sincere hope to see people living peacefully together in Darfur.”
UNOPS has been working in Sudan since 2005, supporting the Government and international partners with humanitarian, recovery and sustainable development services. Since 2014, the Government of Japan has supported three UNOPS-implemented projects in Sudan focused on improving access to water.
In addition, UNOPS provided technical guidance to the UK Department for International Development-funded "Darfur Urban Water Supply Project" from 2010-2014, which helped make clean water available to more than 240,000 residents in four state capitals: El Fasher, El Geneina, Nyala and Zalingei.
