Paper short abstract:

Using empirical cases from the current on going war-torn states in Sudan, intensifying food insecurity, and destruction of digitalization-related infrastructure; the paper helps in rethinking the efficiency of digitalized methods of assistance.

Paper long abstract:

The increasing turn to digitalized means of food assistance, such as bank transfer, QR code, prepaid cards, mobile money, to vulnerable communities are often argued to be more efficient than in-kind provision of food or physical cash. Drawing on the ongoing war crisis in Sudan, intensifying food insecurity, mass displacements and destruction of digitalization-related infrastructure, this paper will shed light on the effectiveness of digitalization in addressing food insecurity in such an extreme precarity. The paper will rely on qualitative data generated from three war affected state’s in Sudan; including: Darfur (in the far West), which has experienced conflict and displacement for more than 20 years, Khartoum (the capital) and Al-Gezira (the site of large agricultural scheme), which are affected by the country-wide war since April 2023. Particular attention will be given to analysis contexts surrounding issues of digitalization and the different actors involved, in particular how local groups, committees and diaspora have played a key role in providing assistance. The paper will also examine the broader range of organisations, authorities, and businesses engaged in food assistance, and their relation to Sudan’s intensifying and extractive political economy. The main argument of this paper is that, though digitalization might enable effective delivery of assistance during precarious times, however, there is a level of precarity in which digitalization itself is disabled.