Sudanese ``Emergency Rooms`` Win International Award for Humanitarian Efforts
moatinoon
The "Emergency Response Rooms" in Sudan have been awarded the 2025 Richard C. Holbrooke Award for International Advocacy, presented annually by Refugees International to recognize outstanding efforts in serving refugees and displaced people around the world.
In a statement issued by the Old Omdurman Emergency Room, the award was described as a well-deserved recognition of the pioneering role played by the Emergency Rooms — a grassroots initiative unaffiliated with any political or governmental body — in providing humanitarian assistance since the outbreak of war in Sudan in April 2023.
Refugees International also awarded the 2025 Holbrooke Award to the late founding couple, Sue and Charlie Morton. In the award ceremony held on May 7 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C., the organization stated that the Emergency Rooms were honored for their ongoing efforts to deliver food, water, and medical aid to those in need across Sudan.
The Old Omdurman Emergency Room shared photos of the award reception on its page, while the organization selected a special artwork for the occasion titled “The Boat of Home”, designed collaboratively by refugees in the Balukhali Camp in Bangladesh and the Bidi Bidi Camp in Uganda.
Since the conflict began, these grassroots initiatives have played a central role in providing medical relief, food support, evacuation, shelter, and humanitarian aid to displaced and affected populations—despite limited resources and minimal support—making them a model of volunteerism and community action.
The Holbrooke Award, named in honor of the late U.S. Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke, who was known for his prominent role in humanitarian diplomacy, is awarded to individuals and organizations that make a tangible impact in the lives of refugees and displaced people.
The statement concluded that this global recognition is "a tribute to the young men and women of Sudan who have made volunteerism a beacon of hope in the darkest of times," congratulating all those involved in the Emergency Rooms on this well-earned achievement.
