How Emergency Response Rooms Deliver Aid to Civilians in Sudan: Colin Thomas-Jensen on Locally Led Humanitarian Response

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2026/03/20

Colin Thomas-Jensen is a policy leader and advocate who has worked for 23 years on peacebuilding, civilian protection, humanitarian response in Sudan and South Sudan. He  previously advised the Administrator of USAID on a range of humanitarian policy  questions, including the Agency’s support for Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms – a  coalition of mutual aid groups providing lifesaving assistance to civilians affected by  Sudan’s catastrophic civil war (2023 to present). He now serves as Director of Impact at  the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, advocating for stronger international support to  frontline humanitarians delivering assistance effectively amid conflict, displacement, and  severe access constraints. His work bridges realities and policy, prioritizing locally led  networks, transparency, and efficiency. 

Colin Thomas-Jensen explains to Scott Douglas Jacobsen how civilian aid in Sudan increasingly depends on Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs), volunteer mutual-aid networks operating nationwide where international access fails, often amid chaos. Drawing on his USAID experience, he describes a core bottleneck: donor systems built for multimillion-dollar grants, not $10,000 flexible support. ERR coalitions such as the Mutual Aid Sudan Coalition helped aggregate funds, manage reporting, and speed delivery while preserving accountability. Now at Aurora, he advocates direct resourcing of frontline leaders like Dr. Jamal Eltaeb, stronger protection under humanitarian law, and metrics tracking local funding share, reach, and worker safety.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: How does aid reach civilians in Sudan? 

Colin Thomas-Jensen: The vast majority of aid reaching civilians in Sudan today is delivered through a network of  local mutual aid groups known as Emergency Response Rooms, or ERRs. These grassroots  organizations emerged organically from within Sudanese communities themselves, as  patriotic citizens chose to stay and help their communities rather than fleeing the violence.  These citizens bravely organize feeding centers, health services, and safe havens for their  neighbors caught in the crossfire. ERRs now operate in every state, powered by tens of  thousands of volunteers who coordinate everything from food distribution and medical  care to evacuations and psychosocial support. Their deep roots in local communities  allow them to respond rapidly and flexibly, often reaching areas that are inaccessible to  international organizations due to insecurity or bureaucratic barriers. 

At Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, we have seen firsthand the impact and value of  leveraging a locally led model to ensure aid successfully reaches humanitarians on the  ground in Sudan. This year, Aurora honors and provides direct funding to our 2026 Laureate  humanitarian, Dr. Jamal Eltaeb, who leads Al Nao Hospital in Omdurman – one of the last  functioning hospitals in greater Khartoum. 

By channeling resources directly to those on the front lines, we help ensure that aid  reaches the most vulnerable, even in the most challenging circumstances. The courage  and ingenuity of Sudan’s ERRs and local leaders are a testament to the power of  community-driven action in the face of crisis, and they remain the backbone in Sudan  today.  

Jacobsen: When you helped build capacity for Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs), what  bottlenecks were urgent to fix? 

Thomas-Jensen: The ERRs deserve the credit for the success of their heroic efforts. At USAID, the main  challenge we faced in robustly supporting ERRs directly was their small size. USAID did not  typically write $10,000 checks to support local organizations. Instead, USAID’s traditional  funding mechanisms were designed for large international organizations, issuing multi million dollar grants that were, at times, redistributed down the chain to local  implementing partners. This created significant barriers for ERRs, which needed smaller  grants and more flexible funding to operate securely and effectively. 

As the ERRs sought to establish more predictable sustained funding for their operations,  they worked to organize themselves into broader coalitions that could receive, distribute,  and account for large grants from government donors and philanthropies. My former  colleagues at USAID provided technical and other support to the Mutual Aid Sudan  Coalition and Localization Coordination Council – Sudanese-led organizations that  coordinate actions across state ERRs, local organizations, and international NGOs. This enabled ERRs to collectively raise funds, distribute those funds across the more than 800  local mutual aid groups, and provide the reporting and impact analysis that most donors  require. As international humanitarian funding and access increases, local organizations  are becoming even more important players in relief efforts.  

Jacobsen: What does locally led mean in the context of contemporary Sudan? 

Thomas-Jensen: In the context of contemporary Sudan, “locally led” means that Sudanese communities  themselves are at the forefront of humanitarian response, designing and delivering aid  based on their own priorities and knowledge. This is not a theoretical ideal but a daily  reality, embodied by the ERRs that have emerged across the country – Sudanese  grassroots networks who are banding together to help their less fortunate neighbors.  Whether organizing food distributions, running health clinics, or coordinating evacuations, 

often in areas that are inaccessible to international organizations. Locally led, in this  sense, is about trust – trusting Sudanese actors to know what their communities need and  empowering them with the resources and autonomy to act.  

At Aurora, we have seen the impact of this approach firsthand through our support of  extraordinary Sudanese and Sudan-based medical leaders like Dr. Jamal Eltaeb and Dr. Tom Catena, whose unwavering commitment exemplifies the power of locally-led  humanitarian response. Dr. Eltaeb, an orthopedic surgeon and general director of Al Nao  Hospital in Omdurman, has kept one of the last functioning referral hospitals in greater  Khartoum operational throughout devastating conflict, saving hundreds of lives while  embodying the resilience and dedication that define local leadership. Similarly, Dr. Catena, who has served as the sole full-time surgeon at Mother of Mercy Hospital in the  Nuba Mountains since 2008, demonstrates how deeply embedded local leaders can  transform entire healthcare systems – his hospital network treated over 295,000 patients  in 2024 while training the next generation of Sudanese medical professionals. These  grassroots leaders have the contextual knowledge, community trust, and sustained  commitment necessary to deliver lifesaving care where others cannot reach.  

Jacobsen: How do you balance speed with accountability in a high-trust, low-infrastructure  environment? 

Thomas-Jensen: Balancing speed with accountability in a high-trust, low-infrastructure environment like  Sudan is a constant challenge, but it is not insurmountable. From my experience at USAID,  I can attest to the fact that working through third party NGOs to deliver funds to ERRs on  the ground was slow. USAID needed to both effectively distribute funding and demonstrate  that US taxpayer dollars were used effectively and responsibly.  

The key is to design funding and reporting mechanisms that are both rigorous and realistic,  tailored to the realities on the ground. Traditional donor models often prioritize exhaustive  paperwork and rigid compliance, which can slow down response times and stifle local  initiative. Instead, we have found that working through umbrella structures – such as the  Mutual Aid Sudan Coalition – enables faster disbursement of funds directly to local relief  efforts while maintaining close coordination and oversight. This structure allows for  collective fundraising, pooled risk, and consistent reporting, making it possible to track  impact without overwhelming local leaders with bureaucracy. Essentially this cuts out the  international NGO middleman, getting assistance directly to local actors on the ground  with the impact data necessary to justify these efforts to Congress and the US taxpayer. 

At Aurora, we focus on building personal relationships and trust with our local partners,  providing flexible funding, and supporting them to develop the systems they need to  demonstrate results. Accountability, in this context, is not just about financial audits; it’s  about transparency, open communication, and a shared commitment to serving those  most in need. By trusting local actors and adapting our expectations, we can ensure that  aid reaches people quickly while still meeting the accountability standards that donors  require. 

Jacobsen: What protections can donors and international actors realistically provide for frontline  networks? 

Thomas-Jensen: The people working for ERRs are incredibly brave. The Sudanese government and military  have a long history of manipulating humanitarian assistance for its own objectives. 

At the same time, donors and international actors play a critical role in advocating for  policy changes to facilitate ERRs work, including conflict actors’ adherence to  international humanitarian law and refrain from attacking relief workers or obstructing their  work. The most important action donors and international actors can take is listening to  what local actors are saying because the most meaningful protection comes from  empowering local organizations with the resources, flexibility, and recognition they need to  operate safely and effectively. This means providing direct funding, supporting collective  structures like the ERRs, and advocating for the rights and safety of humanitarian workers  at every level. At Aurora, we work closely with humanitarians in Sudan to understand their  security concerns and adapt our support accordingly, always prioritizing their safety and  agency. 

It is important for donors and international actors to listen and understand the security  needs and risks these frontline networks are willing to accept. In many cases, local  humanitarians will accept greater risk than outside organizations, which can sometimes  make donors (and their lawyers) uncomfortable. However, it’s critical that these  humanitarians are supported because providing resources to them is one of the most  effective ways to ensure resources reach people at scale in a dangerous operating  environment. Directing support to frontline networks raises hope and resiliency in  communities across Sudan. As Dr. Eltaeb commented, “[The Aurora Prize] is a symbol of  hope. It gives people the [feeling that] you are not alone, you are not forgotten.”

Jacobsen: What did you learn while directing a major government response? 

Thomas-Jensen: My role at USAID was to coordinate across multiple bureaus within the agency, ensure  efficiency of assistance delivery, provide clarity of objectives, and to advocate for our  funding and policy priorities within the broader US interagency and Congress. Having  worked on humanitarian issues in Sudan for nearly 25 years, I’ve witnessed the constant  evolution of our tactics to get assistance to people on the ground. To mount an effective  response to a crisis as large as Sudan – without a doubt the worst humanitarian  catastrophe of the 20th century – we needed a coordinated all-of-government approach  that paired creative ways to deliver aid with a political strategy to reduce the roadblocks  that both sides of the conflict put on humanitarian actors. And, of course, a strong  mediation effort to ultimately end this conflict. 

Yet no matter how well-resourced or well-intentioned a government response may be, it  cannot succeed without listening to and empowering those closest to the crisis. In Sudan,  for example, some of the most effective humanitarian action has come from local actors – people who understand the context, have the trust of their communities, and are willing to  take risks that many outsiders would not. As a government official, I learned that our role is  not to dictate solutions from afar, but to create the conditions for local leadership to  flourish. This means being flexible, adapting our systems to fit the realities on the ground,  and recognizing that accountability and impact can be achieved when we trust and invest  in local partners. Ultimately, creative problem solving is at the center of nearly every  humanitarian response. There’s no cookie cutter approach.  

Jacobsen: I understand you recently attended the Munich Security Conference, what was that like? 

Thomas-Jensen: Yes, I went to the Munich Security Conference alongside Aurora CEO Armine Afeyan and  2019 Aurora Prize Laureate Mirza Dinnayi. We aimed to elevate humanitarian issues and  the role of philanthropy in contributing to global security. Over the three-day conference,  

Aurora delegation members held bilateral meetings with policymakers, non-profit and  humanitarian leaders, and counterparts in the philanthropy community, and participated  in working sessions on the future of global humanitarian response, international peace  efforts to end wars in Sudan, Gaza, and Ukraine, and the evolution of global governance in  an increasingly transactional geopolitical landscape.  

Aurora attends MSC and other international convenings to emphasize the critical role that  local humanitarians play in responding to urgent crises and be a voice for shifting more 

resources and agency to local organizations working on the front lines. With global funding  for humanitarian response down by more than 40%, decreasing adherence to International  Humanitarian Law, and an ongoing reimagining of how to deliver assistance efficiently to at  

risk populations, meetings like MSC serve as a platform for Aurora to amplify the lasting  impact of our humanitarian network, bring our humanitarians into the room with key  decision makers, and an opportunity to shape the future of humanitarian response. 

Jacobsen: What are top policy changes that would improve survival outcomes? 

Thomas-Jensen: I would start with a fundamental shift toward direct, flexible funding for local organizations.  Too often, aid is funneled through layers of international agencies, slowing down response  times and diluting impact. By empowering local actors, we can ensure that assistance  reaches those who need it most, when they need it most.  

Arguably more important to recognize, however, is the fact that policy changes to improve  survival outcomes are largely political. Humanitarians have been saving lives in  challenging environments for decades – crucial efforts that continue to protect  communities in the face of crisis. But these efforts are no replacement for international  political will and capacity to forge political solutions that protect civilians and end wars. In  Sudan, external actors are fueling the inferno by providing arms and other support to the  Sudanese army and opposition Rapid Support Forces; both groups are responsible for  atrocities. 

Jacobsen: What metrics would convince you the humanitarian system in Sudan is getting healthier? 

Thomas-Jensen: To gauge whether the humanitarian system in Sudan is getting healthier, I would look for a  few key metrics. I would want to see a significant increase in the proportion of funding  going directly to local organizations, reflecting a genuine shift toward locally led response.  This includes accounting for the speed and reach of aid delivery, checking to see if more  people in hard-to-access areas are truly receiving timely assistance. I also would assess  the safety and well-being of humanitarian workers, particularly those in areas of active  conflict, to ensure the system is adequately protecting its most valuable assets. Finally, I  would look for evidence of meaningful collaboration between international and local  actors, with local voices shaping strategy and decision-making.

Despite the heroic efforts of ERRs and the few international agencies that have access to  providing support to communities in Sudan, I fear that that the situation will continue to  deteriorate as long as external actors – including the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and  Saudi Arabia – provide military support that allows the SAF and RSF to continue to fight. 

Jacobsen: Thank you very much for the opportunity and your time, Colin.

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