Sudan is facing one of the world’s most complex humanitarian crises. Conflict has displaced millions, while climate-driven shocks compound vulnerability. In such a fragile landscape, cash assistance allows people to decide what they need most, offering autonomy amid uncertainty. But delivering cash across Sudan is extraordinarily difficult. Connectivity and liquidity fluctuate daily, and financial service providers (FSPs) may or may not be operational in a given region. Recognising these challenges, the Sudanese Red Crescent Society decided to accelerate its cash assistance services through a digital system that supports fast, safe and flexible cash assistance in disrupted environments. The 121 Platform became central to this effort. This initiative was funded by the Danish Red Cross.
Local leadership driving digital transformation
The transition did not begin with the technology. It began with the people who would use it. For years, the Sudanese Red Crescent Society has been working with partners such as the Danish Red Cross, the German Red Cross, the Swedish Red Cross, the Swiss Red Cross, the Norwegian Red Cross and the Netherlands Red Cross to strengthen cash preparedness and build capacity. The Sudanese Red Crescent Society is in the lead of the initiative, while partners provide technical support as part of this collaboration.
In August 2025, National Society staff took part in a training in Kenya on using the 121 Platform and data collection tool KoboToolbox. The training, led by the Netherlands Red Cross’ data and digital team, 510, brought together staff and volunteers to map existing workflows and tailor a digital cash process around their reality. As soon as the team returned to Sudan, they began using 121 for real registrations in two regions. This immediate uptake reflected both strong local ownership of the Sudanese Red Crescent Society and a faster, safer system.
“I found 121 easy to understand, create payments and reconcile. In the future, we want to have an integrated system that covers data management and payment within the same platform.”
Khalid Hassan, CVA Finance Officer at the Sudanese Red Crescent Society
From scattered spreadsheets to one secure, shared system
Before the introduction of 121, cash assistance relied heavily on spreadsheets passed between branches and the National Society’s headquarters (HQ). Multiple document versions circulated at once. Branch staff had limited visibility on validation and selection, and HQ teams had to wait for files to arrive to begin cleaning or reconciling them.
121 has transformed this workflow. Volunteers can now register and validate remote households offline using a Kobo form linked to the platform, making records appear directly in 121 as soon as they reconnect, so that HQ staff can clean and deduplicate data immediately. Branch teams now see caseloads in real time, while HQ keeps oversight of the full programme – all with role-based access to strengthen data protection. For the Sudanese Red Crescent Society, the entire cash process has become centralised, traceable and significantly faster.
“Kobo is more secure because access is restricted. Excel is not good for this.”
Osman Saeed, PMER & IM Officer at the Sudanese Red Crescent Society
Flexibility in a challenging environment
The Sudanese Red Crescent Society piloted the 121 Platform in two different operational contexts, with support from the Danish Red Cross. In Red Sea State, severe flooding hit communities. Due to limited bank access, cash-in-hand was the only viable modality. Volunteers registered 516 households at the end of October 2025, and issued USD 173 per household within one distribution shortly after.
In White Nile, where conflict-driven displacement continues, 200 internally-displaced persons with health concerns received support through USD 150 each via three rounds of bank wires. Despite weak connectivity and unpredictable banking conditions, the 121 workflow allowed the team to prepare clean, validated payment lists quickly and confidently.
“Using 121 can help to do data cleaning at HQ and local branches simultaneously. Before, the data had to be sent from the branch to HQ via email. Editing is safer in 121, because you cannot just make changes in the data.”
Abdalla Osman, CVA IM Officer at the Sudanese Red Crescent Society
Both pilots were carried out with a 100% payment success rate, demonstrating a key strength of the platform: when liquidity shortages or FSP constraints make one modality impossible, the Sudanese Red Crescent Society can flexibly switch to another without changing systems.
Faster, safer, ready to scale
Even with Sudan’s persistent challenges, data now flows faster from registration to validation to payment. Teams collaborate more easily. Payment preparation and reconciliation is clearer and more reliable. And for communities, assistance arrives more quickly and predictably. By providing a secure, flexible system that fits the realities of Sudan’s operational environment, 121 has helped the Sudanese Red Crescent Society transform the speed, safety and quality of its cash assistance, amplifying locally led action.
The National Society is planning to scale up the use of digital systems to new branches and projects in 2026, with a higher volume of people registered, supported by the 510 team to automate the cash distribution efficiently in new areas. The message is clear: with strong local leadership and the right digital tools, even the toughest environments can transition from paper to a fast, safe and scalable cash system, improving dignity and responsiveness for communities when they need it most.
DISCLAIMER: Please note that the Arabic, French and Spanish versions of this article were automatically generated using Artificial Intelligence. We cannot guarantee full accuracy of these versions.
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121 is designed for organizations like yours: easy, safe, fast, and built for scale. From the DRC to Eswatini, the Netherlands to Slovakia: throughout 2025, we supported 18 National Societies and organisations with the 121 platform. Contact us to learn how we can support your next programme: support@121.global.