Digitalising food assistance

Political economy, governance and food security effects across the Global North-South divide

A major 3-year ESRC- funded project examining how digitalising food assistance has influenced access to food for marginalised populations and its role as a source of power. We’re working in Sudan, India and the UK. The project is situated in the SOAS Food Studies Centre.

Latest News

  • Event

    24 November 2023

    Susanne and Tamer participated in a conference (from 18-20 October 2023) at the University of Bergen, marking the 60 year anniversary of academic collaboration between Bergen and Sudan, in particular the University of Khartoum

  • Publication

    21 November 2023

    The past two decades have seen an acceleration in the digitalisation of food assistance and social welfare.

  • Publication

    29 August 2023

    Sudan has experienced a catastrophic increase in violence since 15 April, particularly in Darfur and in the capital Khartoum.

  • Publication

    29 August 2023

    يشهد السودان تصاعداً مهولاً في العنف الدائر بالبلاد، منذ ١٥ أبريل الماضي، تحديداً في دارفور وفي العاصمة الخرطوم. ترك الصراع العنيف بين قوات الدعم السريع شبه العسكرية، والقوات المسلحة السودانية للسيطرة على البلاد ومواردها، أثراً بالغاً على حيوات معظم سكان السودان. وعلى الرغم من أن هذه المعركة تبدو للوهلة الأولى وكأنها حدثاً طارئاً ، إلا أن الواقع الحالي يقتضي النظر إليها كتكثيف لنشاط الاقتصاد السياسي السوداني الاستخراجي (الريعي)، بجانب استخدام المليشيا في خوض الحروب الداخلية السودانية

  • Publication

    4 May 2023

    The current crisis in Sudan has deep roots. Seemingly erupting suddenly, it has in fact been a long time coming. Sudan is a highly unequal country – socially, politically, and economically, along geographical, ethnic and class axes.

  • Publication

    July 5 2022

    The 2008 financial crisis and the Covid pandemic have dramatically accelerated the use of digital technologies to respond to food insecurity and humanitarian crises.

Research Sites

Sudan

Sudan is a country in protracted political and humanitarian crisis, where digital practices have been used in food assistance since the 2010s and later in social welfare.

India

India is a lower-middle income country, with digital practices introduced in public (food) distribution from 2010 onwards.

United Kingdom

The UK is a high-income country with rising levels of food insecurity, and since 2010 government social assistance has been digital by default.