Nation Sudan Year 2026
Emergency Response Rooms (ERR)
2026 Balzan Prize for Humanity, Peace and Fraternity among Peoples
For the extraordinary role it has played in providing on-the-ground assistance, solidarity, and hope to communities affected by the civil war in Sudan. Through an extensive network of Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs) and Local Coordination Councils (LCCs) – born out of civic engagement and grassroots participation – the movement has been able to fill the void left by the collapse of institutions and the difficulties in accessing international aid. In particular, the Balzan Prize money will be used to strengthen activities related to mental health care, which are of the utmost importance in a context marked by violence, displacement, and a severe humanitarian crisis.
The Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs), a vast mutual-aid network born out of the mobilisation of Sudanese civil society, is now working on the front line in response to the extremely serious humanitarian crisis caused by the war that broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). In a context marked by the collapse of many essential services, the displacement of millions of people and the difficulties faced by international organisations in gaining access, the ERRs have become a vital point of reference for numerous communities.
Their distinctive feature lies in their community-based, voluntary and de-centralised nature. Through hundreds of grassroots organisations and thou-sands of volunteers on the ground, it is the communities themselves, affected by the war, who identify the most urgent needs, organise interventions, and mo-bilise available resources. This bottom-up model of participation makes it pos-sible to reach even areas where traditional humanitarian assistance faces sig-nificant limitations, while keeping the needs and knowledge of local populations at the centre.
The ERRs operate through a system of coordination between local organisa-tions, which enables the sharing of information and resources, the setting of prio-rities, and the channelling of interventions towards areas where needs are greatest.
Along with immediate assistance, the ERRs devote particular attention to rebuilding the social fabric and fostering community resilience. In a country deeply scarred by violence, displacement, and loss, they have also developed psychosocial support activities aimed at the most vulnerable people. Through the training of local workers, peer support, and community initiatives that also utilise sport, art, and music, they seek to create safe spaces, combat isolation, and foster collective processes of trauma healing.
The work of the ERRs takes place under extremely difficult conditions. Volun-teers operate in conflict-affected areas and are exposed to personal risks, but maintain their neutrality towards the warring parties – an essential condition for retaining the trust of communities and continuing to provide assistance.
The distinctive feature of the Emergency Response Rooms therefore lies in combining humanitarian assistance, solidarity, and community participation. Their experience demonstrates how, even in the midst of war, it is possible to preserve social ties, create forms of collective responsibility, and strengthen communities’ capacity to determine their own future. In this sense, the ERRs represent a concrete example of grassroots peacebuilding – peace that is not merely the end of violence, but that takes shape through caring for people, solidarity, participation, and the daily rebuilding of trust.
