SUDAN
Radio Dabanga loses funding and risks closure. Radio Dabanga has been broadcasting for 17 years to Sudan on shortwave. Its aim is to inform the population of the Horn of Africa, and more especially the Darfur region, about the war and genocide ravaging the country.
For years, Radio Dabanga has been largely funded by the American development agency USAID. In early 2025, the U.S. government, as part
of President Trump's "America First" policy, terminated operations and dramatically reduced nearly all foreign aid.
As a result, Dabanga has been deprived of its essential income since this year, fearing it may cease its activities at the end of the year.
Funding was provided by international donors from the diaspora and local NGOs, but USAID assistance was most important. She hopes to get financial aid from the Netherlands and the city hall of Amsterdam, her homeland.
It is in his offices in Amsterdam that journalists verify the information, by clippings, with official sources and by contacting other people who stayed in the country.
The programs are broadcast by MGLOB, the former relay of Radio Netherlands Worldwide in Talata-Volondry, on the island of Madagascar. Some programs are subcontracted by MGLOB at the Santa Maria di Gallera transmitter center in the Vatican. Due to the financial situation, she had to reduce her airtime from 2.5 hours a day to 1.5 hours.
Apart from shortwave, the station also has its own website, although access is difficult in Sudan. It also has, since 2014, its television channel on the satellite Eutelsat 8W B, allowing it to reach people living in urban areas of Sudan and decision-makers.
In Sudan at war and in great poverty, shortwave remain the most effective way. According to the editor-in-chief: "People often listen in groups, because they have only one radio." "They estimate that about 5 million Sudanese listen to it every week.
Website and live TV: https://www.dabangasudan.org/
Call for donations: https://gogetfunding.com/radio-dabanga/
Times and frequencies:
http://www.short-wave.info/index.php?station=Radio%20Dabanga (subject to change)
Address: Weesperstraat 3 NL-1018 DN Amsterdam Netherlands
(Radio Magazine)
