A donation of £250,000 to help ease the suffering of more than 120,000 people caught up in the violence in Darfur will be made by the Scottish Executive.
Linda Fabiani, Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture, yesterday said the money would be used to provide seeds, tools and training to enable people to feed themselves and their families during the region's rainy season.
An estimated 200,000 people have died and 2.1 million have been displaced from homes during the four-year conflict between the Sudanese military and rebel groups in Darfur. The £250,000 will come from the executive's overseas aid budget and will be given to the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF) to assist the Darfur Emergency Response Operation (DERO).
The award signals a shift in the executive's aid policy, which up until now has been mainly focused on supporting education and health projects in Malawi.
Ms Fabiani said: "With the arrival of the rainy season, we are looking at immediate and practical solutions to support impoverished and displaced people.
"This Scottish government is committed to a progressive international development policy and I am proud we can offer some hope and support to the people of Darfur during this crucial period."
SCIAF has been working with the DERO since 2004 to offer support to refugees in Darfur and neighbouring Chad.
Earlier this month, the organisation launched a new appeal for help at the beginning of the rainy season, which heightens the risk of cholera from contaminated water supplies and malaria from the growth in mosquito populations in refugee camps.
Pregnant women and children under five years of age are particularly at risk.
Mary Cullen, head of communications and education for SCIAF, welcomed the executive's decision to support their appeal.
She said: "This money really will help the poorest of the poor. It will go immediately to projects on the ground in Darfur to help keep people alive through what continues to be a complex and desperate crisis.
"Together with the threat of violence, there is the very real risk of large-scale fatalities from cholera and malaria."
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