People dance to celebrate the National Volunteer Day in Khartoum, Sudan, on July 26, 2017. The Sudanese government marked on Wednesday the National Volunteer Day in the capital Khartoum to boost the humanitarian work in the country. (Xinhua/Mohamed Babkir)
KHARTOUM, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The Sudanese government marked on Wednesday the National Volunteer Day in the capital Khartoum to boost the humanitarian work in the country.
"The procession of the voluntary work in our country is pressing ahead with confidence, dedication, innovation and ability to achieve the aspired goals of the state and society," Bakri Hassan Saleh, Sudan's first vice president and prime minister, said in his address to a celebration.
The Sudanese society boasts a solidarity-based culture to provide support for the needy, he said, urging the national voluntary organizations to continue their assistance in the humanitarian work.
Mashair Al-Dawalab, Sudan's minister of Welfare and Social Security, also hailed the "great" role being played by the national organizations in Sudan.
"Our national voluntary organizations have played a great role in providing humanitarian aid in all conflict and displacement areas," she said.
"What the national voluntary organizations have done in the past and the present in providing support for the affected population, as the latest in Jebel Marra area, constitutes a great example of a pure national effort," she noted.
Ahmed Mohamed Adam, Sudan's Humanitarian Aid Commissioner, called for support for the voluntary organizations to enable them to perform their national roles, and stressed the partnership between the national organizations, the UN agencies and other international organizations.
"We have great hope that the government's sponsorship for the national voluntary organizations would continue with provision of further support and facilitations together with support for the programs of the Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) to strengthen the response and boost the coordination among all partners of the voluntary work," Adam said.
In 2014, the Sudanese government introduced the "Sudanization of Humanitarian Work Program" and required the ministries to arrange projects in coordination with the United Nations and its agencies, but the program has not been implemented.
The program was meant to enhance the role of national voluntary organizations in Sudan to establish an effective mechanism responding to humanitarian needs.
