A two-day donor conference on Sudan ended on 8 April in Doha, Qatar with a pledge of USD 3.6billion. The amount, which will be paid over six years, will be devoted mainly to the development and reconstruction of the Darfur region.

For its part the African Development Bank (AfDB) participated actively in the meeting. As one of the key donors supporting this event, the AfDB took the lead in assessing infrastructure needs in Darfur, together with the World Bank and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). The Bank was represented by a delegation led by its Resident Representative for Sudan, Abdul B. Kamara.

The Darfur Development Strategy (DDS), which was the background document for the Conference, had estimated that about USD 7.2 billion, would be required to support Darfur's reconstruction and development needs over the next six years. Sudan had pledged to cover USD 2.6 billion out of this amount, while donors (bilateral and multilaterals) were expected to bridge the gap of USD 4.6 billion.

According to the DDS, about USD 177 million would immediately be required for foundational activities.

The three overarching Pillars of the DDS are:

(i) Governance, Justice and Reconciliation (USD 0.84 billion);

(ii) Reconstruction (USD 5.0 billion); and,

(iii) Economic Recovery (USD 1.4 billion).

The conference brought together about 400 participants from both bilateral and multilateral donors, including the USA, the UK, Japan, Russia, China, almost all Arab countries, the AfDB, the World Bank, the UN Agencies, Funds and Programs, Islamic Development Bank, the Kuwait Fund. It was a platform for donors to discuss the road-map for the implementation of Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) signed in 2011.