Humanitarian Emergency and Longer-term Planning – Sudan (HELP-S)
The FCDO invites expressions of interest by 27 May 2026 for a £30 million programme to strengthen the resilience of communities in more-stable parts of conflict-affected areas of Sudan.
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is launching a £30 million, 2.5-year programme (2026 to 2029) to strengthen local responders in the more stable parts of the conflict affected areas of Sudan. The multi‑year programme will look to fill response gaps in areas of high need that are more stable to lay foundations for more sustainable resilient approaches.
The deadline to submit an expression of interest is 27 May 2026.
What the fund will achieve
- communities remain the first responders, and lessons from the current and past crises show the need for a re‑imagined approach where locally-led efforts form the ‘first line’ of response, supported by a complementary ‘second line’ of international assistance
- an effective response is based on genuine partnership (with mutual respect and understanding for the different value add of different stakeholders) must uphold humanitarian principles, enable flexible and adaptive programming, strengthen community acceptance and accountability, drive innovation, and follow a demand‑led model prioritised by affected populations.
Requirements for organisations wishing to apply
Eligible organisations include:
- international non‑governmental organisations
- Sudanese national and local civil society organisations
- United Nations agencies
- not-for-profit academic institutions and research bodies
- mixed consortia (for profit organisations may only join as downstream partners)
Organisations must be able to show:
- proven experience in humanitarian delivery in the most challenging of contexts
- capacity to work in conflict-affected and hard to reach areas of Sudan
- strong safeguarding systems, including measures to prevent sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment
- a clear commitment to locally-led approaches and genuine partnership with Sudanese organisations
- robust financial management and compliance systems that meet FCDO requirements
- ability to adapt activities to continue delivering in volatile and complex operating environments
How to apply
Applicants should submit:
- a 5-page expression of interest using the template (attached)
- a high-level budget using the budget template (attached)
Email submissions to Daniel.diriba@fcdo.gov.uk by 11:59pm on 27 May 2026 East Africa Time (EAT). We will not consider submissions received after this time.
Contacts
For the expressions of interest, we are offering 2 opportunities to submit written queries:
- by 12 midday EAT on 12 May, for a response by 14 May
- by 12 midday EAT on 19 May, for a response by 21 May
Email queries to gemma.gargent@fcdo.gov.uk