Sudan has the third-highest prevalence of malnutrition in the world. The contribution will support fortified foods for malnourished children under age 5 and pregnant or lactating women, emergency school feeding programs and food distributions to the most vulnerable and food-insecure populations.

The strong El Niño effects have caused below-average plantings and harvests of staple and cash crops across Sudan, which will lead to less availability and higher demand for food in 2016. Humanitarian assistance needs will also be higher than usual as the 2016 lean season began in March, two months earlier than usual. The projected number of acutely food-insecure people in Sudan is likely to reach 4.5 million during the peak lean season in 2016.

Protracted conflict inside Sudan and in neighboring countries have increased the number of refugees and internally displaced people suffering from food insecurity in Sudan. Over 360,000 refugees reside in Sudan. Since December 2013, over 190,000 South Sudanese have arrived, fleeing violence in their country. Ongoing fighting in Darfur has displaced a total of 2.6 million people. Another 1.7 million are displaced by conflict in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states.

This year's projects, spanning 25 countries, are funded through a competitive annual award and directly support schools, libraries and medical centers outside the United States that advance innovation and best practices and build bridges between citizens of the United States and other countries.

Some examples of new projects include the University of Alaska Fairbanks which will support the American University of Mongolia in establishing its engineering and mining school. USAID/ASHA continues growing its relatively new partnership with the Horn of Africa Education Development Fund which will construct a science building, expand its auditorium, and make other campus improvements at the Abaarso School of Science and Technology in Somaliland. ASHA is working in Slovakia again for the first time since 1993 by partnering with the City University of Seattle to renovate the campus of Vysoka Skola Manazmentu to make it fully green and sustainable. ASHA is continuing its historical support to Haiti by funding the St. Boniface Haiti Foundation to construct and equip a residence facility with a training room and medical library at the St. Boniface Hospital and Catholic Relief Services to procure and install an oxygen concentrator, elevator, and telemedicine equipment to improve medical care at Hospital St. Francois de Sales. Other grants will expand our partnerships in India with awards to Rambo Committee for construction of a neonatal intensive care unit at the Christian Hospital Mungeli, to the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia for construction of a solar power facility at the Madras Christian College, and to Baylor University for the establishment of a patient simulation lab at the Bangalore Baptist Hospital.

For the past 58 years USAID/ASHA has been providing support to outstanding overseas institutions which form regional and international leaders, provide education and care to disadvantaged communities, and advance science and technology globally. A complete list of award recipients is available here