Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms have become essential to civilian survival during the war, organising food, healthcare, evacuations and other services where public institutions have collapsed. Their authority rests largely on trust built through local service. As coordination and international engagement expand, however, questions arise about who represents these networks, how representatives are authorised, and to whom they are accountable.

In this research paper, Musab Mohamed examines how coordination through the Localisation Coordination Council (LCC) is reshaping relationships within the Emergency Response Room movement. Drawing on interviews with volunteers and practitioners, he explores how locally rooted networks navigate more formal institutional arrangements, and what these changes mean for the legitimacy on which their work depends.

The paper considers who speaks on behalf of the rooms, how representative claims are understood and contested, and how experiences differ across geography and gender. Particular attention is given to Women’s Response Rooms and the relationship between community-based authority and recognition by external actors.

About the author

Musab Mohamed is a Chevening Scholar and MSc graduate in International Development from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He previously worked as a Programme Officer at Mercy Corps in Kassala, Sudan, and at the African Development Bank. Displaced from Khartoum in 2023, his research focuses on legitimacy, governance and localisation in Sudan’s humanitarian response.

Read the full research paper below for the findings, analysis and policy recommendations.