Some Socioeconomic and Political Aspects of the Dynamics and Coping with Poverty in Rural and Urban Sudan

This research would focus on two main issues: First, after reviewing the literature and the adoption, for Sudan, of an appropriate definition of the concept of poverty and the criteria for its measurement at the empirical level, government impact on the process of poverty in terms of individuals getting in and out of poverty and the change in the degree to which it has been deepened over time as a result of government policies would be examined in detail. Related to this, the conceptions of poverty held by the three actors involved (government departments involved in poverty alleviation, UNOs and NGOs and the poor), actions and strategies based on those conceptions aimed at alleviating poverty and the factors and forces constraining success would also be investigated. Second, this proposed research would also deal with the conceptions of the poor sections of the population (both urban and rural) of what it means to them to be poor, how this conception has changed over time plus their explanation of their poverty situation, with the aim of making a profile of what the poor do to cope with their poverty-related difficulties, the constraints they face, and what do they consider the most appropriate form of help to be offered to them in addition to their own self help coping efforts, that could facilitate their exit from poverty conditions.