Hanin Ahmed Speaks at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting
On September 25, Hanin Ahmed, the External Relations Officer for Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs) and a Refugees International Fellow, spoke at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting about the lifesaving work and courage of the ERRs and CGI’s recent commitment to mobilize $16.5 million for the ERRs by the end of 2026.
This recording includes opening remarks from Secretary Hilary Clinton.
A Nationwide Lifeline: Scaling Emergency Response Rooms Across Sudan’s 18 States
Thank you, Secretary Clinton. I’m Hanin Ahmed, External Relations Officer, Emergency Response Rooms in Sudan.
In a makeshift clinic in Khartoum, a doctor—once a professor—stitches a wound by flashlight. In a remote village in Darfur, volunteers negotiate with armed groups for a single corridor to deliver food. These are our Emergency Response Rooms: not buildings, but networks of courage.
Picture what conditions they’re facing: a community under siege in Al Fashir, Kadugli, Aldalang—cut off from the world. No hospitals. No clean water. Then, an outbreak: cholera, dengue fever. A child falls ill. In this moment, the ERRs are the first and only responders. They are the early warning system, the rapid response team, and the trusted messengers all in one. Their value, built on local access, knowledge, and trust, is irreplaceable. They are the moment we realized that to save a nation, you must empower its people.
We are solving man made problems with women and youth led grassroot movement.
The terrifying diversity of this conflict demands a diversity of approaches. In one locality, a Room is a telemedicine hub. In another, it’s a women-led collective distributing seeds and tools. In a third, it’s youth volunteers providing lifesaving activities. This hyper-local, agile model is our strength. We recognized then that the most effective response to the crisis was not arriving from outside, but was rising from within. It was found in the courage of local volunteers—teachers, engineers, students.
Our Commitment to Action is to fortify and expand Emergency Response Rooms as a lifeline for people across Sudan. Starting with Khartoum state rooms, we are building a coordinated network across all 18 states and 118 localities of Sudan, ensuring no community is left behind through the Localization Coordination Council. The story of the ERRs is not just a story about crisis response. It is a story about a fundamental shift in power and agency. It challenges the very core of how we think about aid. For too long, the default has been a top-down model: large systems delivering help to passive recipients. The ERRs turn this model on its head. They demonstrate that the most effective, agile, and trusted first responders are always local.
We are not doing this alone. Our partners range from the brave neighborhood volunteers who are the true first responders, local NGOs to international organizations like CORE, UNICEF, and Center for Disaster Philanthropy, who provide the resources to scale this courage.
Our impact is measured in millions of meals distributed, thousands of medical procedures conducted, and, most importantly, in the sustained hope of millions of Sudanese who know they are not forgotten. We aim to directly support over 3 million beneficiaries within the next year.
The Clinton Global Initiative provided the crucial platform that moved our model from a local response to a national strategy. CGI’s focus on “what’s next” is our mandate. We keep going because in every one of those 118 localities, we see the same unwavering will to live and rebuild.
And the world is taking note. The extraordinary work of the ERRs was recognized with a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize last year, and they are contenders once again. This isn’t just humanitarian aid; it is a global recognition of a grassroots peacekeeping force.
We ask that you join the LCC, philanthropists and other stakeholders involved with the Coalition for Mutual Aid in Sudan to mobilize funding for mutual aid. Last year, at CGI, this group of philanthropists and other partners led by the Center for Disaster Philanthropy set out to mobilize $6.5 million by the end of 2026. Now that the original goal has been exceeded, they’ve set a new goal of $16 million by the end of 2026. Your support is needed in Sudan now more than ever.
We are not just delivering aid; we are building the connective tissue for a future Sudan. We are honoring our common humanity by proving that even when a nation is under siege, its people cannot be defeated.
Keep your eyes, efforts and actions on Sudan
Thank you.