They met in Doha to raise funds for rebuilding the Sudanese region long affected by conflict.
Hundreds of delegates from charities and governments on April 8, 2013 ended a two-day international conference in Doha, Qatar, aimed at raising funds for the reconstruction of the Sudanese region of Darfur following a decade-long conflict, Al Jazeera TV reported.
Organisers had hoped to raise 7.2 billion US Dollars (about FCFA 3,632 billion), with the Sudanese government committing to provide Two billion US Dollars (about FCFA 1,008 billion). At the end, only 3.6 billion US Dollars (about FCFA 1,803) was raised, including the Sudanese government’s commitment.
On the final day of the event, host, Qatar, pledged 500 million US Dollars (about FCFA 252 billion) as grants and contributions for rebuilding Darfur. Earlier at the opening on Sunday, Qatar’s Prime Minister, Hamad Bin Jassim Al Thani, said peace time had begun in Darfur and needed to be protected by development, not force.
Similarly, Britain pledged at least 16.5 million US Dollars (about FCFA 8.3 billion) for Darfur annually over the next three years to help communities to grow their own food and provide skills training to help people find work. The leader of the UN Development Programme in Sudan, Jorg Kuhnel, said the development strategy requires FCFA 3,632 billion for a six-year period to move Darfur away from food handouts and other emergency aid and lay the foundation for lasting development. The strategy calls for agricultural upgrades, access to financing and other measures to help Darfuris support themselves under a more effective system of local government.
