United Nations in South Sudan

The Sustainable Development Goals are a global call to action to end poverty, protect the earth’s environment and climate, and ensure that people everywhere can enjoy peace and prosperity. These are also the goals the UN is working for in South Sudan:

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Publication

27 June 2022

South Sudan UN Common Country Analysis (CCA)

South Sudan faces serious challenges in all areas of sustainable development. In the political sphere, significant progress has been achieved since 2018 when the R-ARCSS was signed. However, there are very important tasks such as the graduation of unified forces that remain to be completed. The population remains highly exposed to repeated and deliberate attacks on civilians and their property, as well as other violations of international, humanitarian and human rights including sexual exploitation and abuse or more broadly conflict-related gender-based violence, among others. These happen with widespread impunity because institutions and the rule of law is extremely weak, which can easily create a vicious cycle leading to more violence. Linked to this, after many years of conflict and violence there is widespread trauma in a high share of the population, especially those most vulnerable. The precarious security situation creates incentives that preclude consumption (e.g. those who can afford often prefer to neighboring countries) and investment (e.g. in the agricultural sector: if someone’s land can be grabbed any time, s/he will hardly invest in it). Food insecurity is very high despite the country’s generally fertile soil, and over 8 million people (most of the country’s population) are estimated in need of some sort of humanitarian assistance. Humanitarian needs are often linked to population movements, including new and secondary displacements derived from sub-national conflict, and floods that have increasingly affected South Sudan for several years in a row, e.g. in 2021 the worst flooding in decades has affected some 700,000 people, with the gravest impact on the most vulnerable populations. There are about 1.7 million internally displaced people (IDP) and 1.7 million IDP returnees, as well as over 2.3 million refugees and asylum seekers in neighboring countries. More than 387,000 refugees have spontaneously returned since the signing of the R-ARCSS in 2018. South Sudan also hosts some 329,000 refugees, the vast majority of whom are from Sudan. Social indicators, especially those on access to the most basic services such as healthcare, education, water and sanitation and social protection are amongst the worst in the world (even more so for vulnerable groups such as women and especially girls, the elderly, persons with disabilities, etc.). About three quarters of the population are estimated to live in extreme poverty.

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Publication

04 July 2022

2021 UN Country Annual Results Report South Sudan

Throughout the year, the UNCT has enjoyed high-level dialogue with the government on a number of key humanitarian, peace and sustainable development concerns. For example, the National Food Systems Dialogues were used to inform global discussions at the UN’s General Assembly and the UNCT provided financial and technical support for the development of a National Youth Strategy currently at the legislature. The Strategy will support the protection and promotion of the human rights of every young person, empowering each to build their resilience, achieve their potential and make positive contributions as agents of change in South Sudan. Other key achievements worthy of mention include the mobilization of USD 11.7 million from the UN’s Peacebuilding Support Office for three key initiatives related to provisions under the Revised-Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS): the drafting of the permanent constitution, community action for peaceful resolution; and transitional Justice. A Peacebuilding Fund Secretariat has been established in the RCO to provide coordination and oversight of the projects. Further, the UNCT facilitated the set-up of the Truth, Healing and Reconciliation Forum, the establishment of governance administration across the 10 States and 3 administrative areas and organization of the fifth Governance forum. The latter identified 20 key actions including addressing floods, mitigating the effects of climate change and expediting the training, graduation and deployment of a unified force. Regarding Gender and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) several initiatives are at advanced stage with the UN’s support, including the drafting of policy documents for a Women’s Development Fund, the Anti-GBV Bill signalling an end to impunity for SGBV perpetrators, plus the Strategic National Action Plan on Elimination of Child Marriage. The UNCT has also provided technical support to the government for the review of the National Development Strategy (R-NDS), conduct of fragility assessments and formulation of State Plans. These will inform medium to long-term development priorities and help to reinvigorate the aid architecture in South Sudan. Assistance from the UN has also enabled the Government to make progress on Public Finance Management (PFM) reforms building trust and yielding direct benefits. The World Bank has availed a USD 34 million grant to Government to advance PFM reforms, strengthen key oversight institutions, improve budget transparency and related outcomes in the country.

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2021 UN Country Annual Results Report Cover page

Story

22 December 2020

UN agencies’ alarm at worsening hunger in South Sudan

Three United Nations organizations are calling for immediate humanitarian access to parts of South Sudan’s Pibor County in Jonglei State, where people have run out of food and are facing catastrophic levels of hunger according to a new Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report released today. The high levels of hunger are being driven by insecurity, the effects of COVID-19, the economic crisis, and the impact of flooding on livelihoods, the report said. Humanitarian assistance is needed to save lives and avert a total collapse of livelihoods in hard-to-reach areas. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) are scaling up their response, along with other humanitarian aid organizations. “We call on all parties to stop the violence and to ensure safe humanitarian access in order to prevent an already dire situation from turning into a full-blown catastrophe,” FAO Representative in South Sudan Meshack Malo said. “We are extremely concerned about the increased numbers of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition. These children need urgent treatment to prevent them from dying. The data leave us with no doubt about the sense of urgency for all of us - Government, donor community and humanitarian actors - to join hands and ensure all these children get the treatment they need. At the same time, we need to invest more in actions to prevent children from becoming malnourished in the first place,” UNICEF Representative in South Sudan Mohamed Ayoya said. “WFP is extremely worried about the rising numbers of people suffering because of the lack of sufficient food and nutrition, intensified conflict, unprecedented flooding and high food prices. The coming year will be extremely tough, but we are determined to do all we can to reach more people for longer periods of time," said Makena Walker, Deputy Country Director of the World Food Programme in South Sudan. Extreme hunger in parts of Pibor county Figures in today’s report estimate that between October and November, 6.5 million people in South Sudan faced severe acute food insecurity and are in need of urgent assistance. This number is projected to grow to 7.24 million between April and July 2021. Today’s report comes after two independent reports published by the IPC Global Support Unit last week which indicated that tens of thousands of people are likely to face famine conditions in Pibor county. In this situation, many families are experiencing high levels of acute malnutrition and even mortality. In another five counties (Akobo, Aweil South, Tonj East, Tonj North and Tonj South), some communities are facing catastrophic conditions, the independent analysis found. Around 1.4 million children aged between 6 months and 5 years are expected to be acutely malnourished in 2021 and will need life-saving treatment, according to today’s report. This includes 313 000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition and more than a million children suffering from moderate acute malnutrition. At the same time, 483 000 pregnant or breastfeeding women are acutely malnourished and in need of treatment. Emergency response WFP has already begun scaling up its lifesaving food and nutritional assistance to critically food insecure areas in Pibor County as well as other areas of concern, extending its humanitarian response beyond the usual lean season and increasing the number of vulnerable people who need support. In the past two months, WFP has extended its food assistance to nearly 80,000 people in Pibor County. Meanwhile, in Akobo East more than 40,000 people are currently receiving food assistance. WFP will continue to scale up its emergency food response working with partners to build community resilience and development. In total, WFP has provided food assistance to five million people in need in South Sudan in 2020. UNICEF will further scale up its interventions supporting therapeutic treatment and stabilization centres in the most affected counties to protect and save children’s lives. This year, UNICEF has already treated 170,000 children affected by severe acute malnutrition, with a 94 per cent recovery rate. Further expansion of services is now urgently needed - including to insecure areas - for the treatment of severe acute malnutrition. UNICEF will continue to address the underlying causes of malnutrition such as malaria and diarrheal diseases caused by a lack of clean water, sanitation and hygiene, and investing in prevention of malnutrition through promotion of breastfeeding and good feeding practices for the young child. FAO’s priority is to assist farming and agro-pastoral communities to increase their production and preserve their livelihoods. So far in 2020, over 100 000 farming families have received support to grow their own food from seeds, and more than 5 million animals have been vaccinated and treated to assist 164 000 households. FAO has also distributed 800 tonnes of emergency animal feed for critical animal stocks, especially in flood-affected locations.

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Publication

04 July 2022

2021 UN Country Annual Results Report South Sudan

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Story

29 July 2022

UNMISS Mine Action Supports the People of Upper Nile and Jonglei

This month DSRSG/RC/HC Ms. Sara Beysolow Nyanti is scheduled to visit the remote village of Canal, Jonglei where a community displaced by flooding, and seeing little alternative, resettled in a minefield. This visit will afford an opportunity to hear first-hand from community members about the impact of the mission’s recent mine action clearance on their daily lives, as well as to listen to what challenges they still face, such as food, shelter, medical, and security needs. In March 2022, following on from several Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) sessions delivered by UNMAS, Chief of Mine Action, Fran O’Grady visited Canal to assess how clearance activities could be undertaken, in what was a race against time to get mechanical demining machinery on a barge to the site before the onset of the wet season. Thankfully, this was achieved through solid team effort that resulted in the disposal of more than 25 anti-personnel mines and the clearance of over 17,000 sqm of land, making it safe for the 1,300 people to settle and undertake agricultural activities, as well as for safe access for humanitarian response. Every year the Upper Nile and Jonglei regions of South Sudan face severe flooding, with the unprecedented rainfall in recent years compounding an already dire humanitarian situation leaving those displaced most vulnerable. As a mission component under UNMISS’ Protection and Development Pillar, UNMAS continues its activities with the shared goal of ensuring that the girls, boys, women and men of South Sudan can take safe steps on safe ground.

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DSRSG/RC/HC Ms. Sara visits a minefield to see UNMAS clearance operations

Story

29 July 2022

South Sudan in the world of 8 Billion: Towards a Resilient future for all

On the 26th of July 2022, UNFPA South Sudan in partnership with the Government of South Sudan and the support of several donors including USAID, the Governments of Sweden and Norway, launched the State of the World Population Report and commemorated the World Population Day 2022 under the theme “South Sudan in the World of 8 Billion: Towards a Resilient Future for All.” The commemoration event was graced by guest of honor, Honorable Dr. Albino Bol, Minister for Youth and Sports, and brought together key Government officials, donors, stakeholders and various partners, implementing sexual reproductive health programmes at the Nyakuron Cultural Centre. This event highlighted key messages from the 2022 State of the World Report, showcased and exhibited programmes and interventions geared towards achieving the three zeros (zero preventable maternal deaths, zero unmet need for family planning, zero gender-based violence and harmful practices such child marriage) and also raised awareness among youth, stakeholders, and surrounding communities on strategies to end unintended pregnancies. Dr. Ademola Olajide, UNFPA Representative in South Sudan remarked that “a society that fails to guarantee rights and choices for women and girls, will fail to optimize the contribution of 50% of its human capital to sustainable national development”. The State of the World Population Report noted that nearly half of all pregnancies worldwide, totaling about 121 million each year, are unintended. Moreover, over 60 per cent of unintended pregnancies end in abortion, with an estimated 45 per cent of all abortions being unsafe, and accounting for between 5 and 13 per cent of all maternal deaths recorded. In addition, nearly a quarter of all women are unable to decline sex and make decisions about their own health. With the continued growth in global population, the absolute number of unintended pregnancies is expected to keep rising and the profound consequences of unintended pregnancies for women, girls, societies, and global health will continue to grow. “Our population of 13 million people provides us an opportunity to enhance the well-being of the population through honest conversation and deliberately targeted policies to address choices and rights” said Honorable Dr. Albino Bol, Minister of Youth and Sports. World Population Day is celebrated on the 11th of July annually, and offers a moment to celebrate human progress. The world, despite its challenges, is one where higher shares of people are educated and live healthier lives than at any previous point in history. It is important to keep this fact in mind when, in the next few months, the total number of people in the world will reach 8 billion. This milestone will attract much attention and debate, and likely scaremongering over “too many” people. That would be a mistake. Focusing only on population numbers and growth rates often leads to coercive and counterproductive measures and the erosion of human rights. It can deepen already acute inequalities, such as policies shutting down reproductive health care or denying adequate pensions for the elderly, further marginalizing those left behind. "We cannot have a nation without population and a nation's population is linked to the national sustainable development agenda; It is not about numbers but about quality of life of the people '' Hon. Majur, Chair Parliamentary Network on Population and Development remarked during the event. The world is fast approaching 2030, the deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals and for UNFPA’s own transformative goals — to end the unmet need for family planning, end preventable maternal deaths and end gender-based violence and harmful practices, including child marriage. UNFPA remains committed to transforming the lives of women and girls and reaching those furthest behind. Preventing unintended pregnancies is a nonnegotiable first step.

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Story

30 June 2022

FAO goat and sheep distribution helps create peace between refugees and host community in Maban

Cradling her small baby in one arm, Hijou Alia Memo bends over to pat one of her sheep with the other hand. Four other adult sheep and two lambs wander around the dusty area surrounding Alia’s tukal. These sheep are precious to Alia, who lives in the Kaya refugee camp in Maban county. “Before I was suffering. I have many children who were living without food to eat and had no clothes to wear,” says the mother of five. Now, her children are benefiting from the extra nutrition provided by the sheep milk. Alia was one of 300 refugees in Maban county who received five sheep or goats each in December 2021, through a Norway-funded restocking programme conducted by FAO. The goal of the distribution is to help vulnerable people establish a livestock-based livelihood, or to re-establish their livestock business if they previously had animals but lost them due to displacement, raiding or disease. FAO vaccinates and deworms the sheep and goats before distribution, and the beneficiaries are trained on the basics of livestock health and animal husbandry. Small ruminants are the kind of livestock customarily owned by women in South Sudan. They are less likely to cause conflict or be raided, and they reproduce quickly. But it’s not only refugees who are benefiting from the FAO livestock restocking. In Maban county, 400 beneficiaries in the host community also received sheep and goats. Among both the refugee and host community, the most vulnerable members of the community were selected to receive the small ruminants, including single mothers, widows, people with disabilities and senior citizens. Hahoz Wardu, 85 years old, is one of the beneficiaries in the host community. “The children in my family go to school, they are even dressed with clothes we bought because of the milk we sell in the market, and also the children are drinking the milk from the goats,” he says. Wardu says the small ruminants improve life for the family, so if a sheep or goat gets sick, he will prioritize buying medicine for the animal. “When we see conflict around refugee settlements, it’s often due to competition over limited resources,” says Meshack Malo, the FAO Representative in South Sudan. “By providing members of both the refugee community and host community with access to animals which can help build their livelihood, FAO is doing its part to promote peace in the region.” Furthermore, when refugees have access to livestock, it allows them to integrate into the local economy. Alazira Alamen is a community leader in charge of security at the Gendrasa refugee camp. He says the distribution of sheep and goats to some community members is a sustainable way of helping refugees adapt to life away from home. ‘”This is normal activity for all our people. We traditionally practice agriculture for income and also producing animals. The people have experience keeping livestock,” says Alamen. For her part, Alia is already looking forward to what she can accomplish with her flock of sheep. Alia received five sheep in December, and already two of them have given birth, bringing the total number to seven. “In the next three years my sheep will multiply themselves by giving birth,” she says. “I will always take care of them and with time, I can even sell sheep in the market and start buying cows from the profit I will make.”

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Hijou Alia Memo taking care of her sheep

Story

23 June 2022

This World Refugee Day, the right to seek safety is enduringly and urgently important

Twenty-five years ago, on the banks of the remote Bala Murghab River, I witnessed and supported a community of 8,000 Afghan Turcomen who sought and accessed safety from violence. Villages in northern Afghanistan were falling in rapid succession to a relentless Taleban surge, and the tightknit community of Marechak forded the river and ensured their safety. The Murghab River was not just a natural barrier, but an international boundary between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. When the Marechaki families crossed it, they exercised their right to seek and enjoy asylum, and they triggered the international obligation of their new host state to not repulse them, and to grant them safety. If war is a failure of our international rules-based system, asylum is a small victory — a safety net which recognizes that innocents should have the means to escape horrors and to receive protection. Thus, the right to seek safety is a right that you exercise when your other rights are violated. It is realistic, rather than idealistic. It saves lives and it provides respite — every day, and for millions. Today, some 100 million people around the world are forcibly displaced by conflict and persecution. Twenty-seven million of them are refugees. They are the shards of our fractured international order. On this day of 20 June, the United Nations marks World Refugee Day, when we commemorate the strength and resilience of people forced to flee. We reaffirm that seeking asylum is a human right. Anyone fleeing persecution, conflict, or human rights abuses has a right to seek protection in another country. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is restating five core principles that have saved these and countless other lives: the right to seek asylum; safe access; no pushbacks; no discrimination; and humane treatment. Granting asylum is not a favour. It’s an international obligation. But it’s more than that: it’s a human reflex. Throughout my career, I have seen countries, and more importantly, people, open their borders, their homes and indeed their hearts to strangers in danger. From the rainforests of Kisangani and Gueckedou, the mehmankhaneh of Mashhad and Peshawar, the mountains of Sabzak and Chouf, the beaches of Lesbos and Tripoli, and the downtowns of Bogota and Amman, I have witnessed trauma, succour and humanity. Compassion knows no boundaries. Yet, 100 million people forced from home is not normal. Safety nets are not solutions. The best intentions can run dry if there is no end in sight, and if support is limited and diminishing. So even as we honour the resilience of those forced to flee, and thank those who host them, we also intensify our efforts to strengthen international solidarity and to work with others to bring about peace and development. South Sudan, where I now work, manifests the tragedy of massive and prolonged displacement but also points towards a more decent and hopeful way ahead. Decades of war have pushed over 2 million South Sudanese out of the country, and conflict and climate crises have displaced another 2 million within its borders. Yet this new nation, despite poverty and instability, has itself opened its doors to 343,000 refugees and asylum seekers. Acting with generosity and alacrity, it has provided security and, where it can, donated large tracts of black cotton soil farmland. Working as a team, the international community in South Sudan is taking an approach that ensures that peace, humanitarian action and development are in sync, and pushes us in the direction of solutions. We are already seeing results. Last year, for example, we advocated for international support and succeeded in obtaining a US$98 million grant from the World Bank to support both hosts and refugees — a model gesture of support for a consistent asylum nation. And South Sudanese refugees themselves are beginning to return. Over half a million have repatriated since the signing of the revitalised peace agreement (RARCSS) in 2018. They are at the vanguard of peace and represent a logical conclusion to exile. For decades safely protected in Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo, they are tentatively but emphatically coming home. As an elderly man in Raja, northern South Sudan, said to me last year: we thank Sudan for giving us refuge, but this is home; this is the place where I walk the streets with my dignity intact. Working as a harmonised UN team, we are joining up the pieces, and building what we call ‘pockets of hope’ — places where we honour people’s decisions and follow their lead, in order to build development and peace. But for a person forced to flee, it begins with safety. Crossing a border, receiving protection and support, picking up the pieces. When a displaced person feels safe, she can recuperate; and her nation can have the space to rebuild and reconcile. Push that person back, you create insecurity but nurture that person until they choose to return voluntarily, and you have forged an agent of peace and stability. This World Refugee Day, let us recall that every day, millions of ordinary and unsung people are making sure that those in peril can find safety and refuge. And let us reaffirm our collective, global responsibility to uphold this principle, and to enable the refugee to heal, learn, work, thrive; and when the conditions that led to flight have lifted, to find a durable solution.

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17 June 2022

Education Transformation Summit Consultations Launched in South Sudan

In partnership with the United Nations Development System in South Sudan, the Ministry of General Education and Instruction launched the National Consultations in preparation for the Education Transformation Summit. Recognizing that education is a human right and a foundation for peace, tolerance, and sustainable development, the UN Secretary-General announced in his report to the UN General Assembly on ‘Our Common Agenda’ his intention to convene a Transforming Education Summit in September 2022. The Summit will mobilize action, ambition, solidarity, and solutions to transform education between now and 2030 “Education statistics from the Ministry of Education demonstrate that more boys are in school than girls. We need to look at ways of improving teaching, learning, and access for a friendly, safe, and equal environment for girls and boys,” said Ms. Sara Beysolow Nyanti, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations Development System in South Sudan. The Summit provides an opportunity to mobilize greater political ambition, commitment, and action to reverse the slide in quality education and accelerate progress towards targets under the Decade of Action and the 2030 Agenda. The Government of South Sudan will conduct national consultations for an inclusive, multi sectoral dialogues and meaningful stakeholders' engagement. This action supports the preparation of South Sudan’s National Statements of Commitments to inform the Secretary General’s summit in September 2022. The Consultations will help develop a shared vision, commitment, and alignment of action across stakeholders with a focus on innovative solutions, policy, planning, and budgetary changes needed to transform education for the people of South Sudan. “These consultations are unique in South Sudan, bringing together all education stakeholders, including pupils, secondary school students, lecturers, teachers, Ministry of Education officials, and the UN, among others, to discuss the improvement of education. This is a rare opportunity, and we must all commit to the course” said Hon. Minister Awut Deng Achuil, Minister of General Education and Instruction. The Consultations will focus on actions that can accelerate progress on education as part of the 2030 Agenda and transform education to be inclusive, equitable, safe, and healthy. The consultations will solicit National commitments to transform education and greater public engagement from all education stakeholders in South Sudan. “Education is a right that every child must enjoy, however, many are left out due to lack of financial resources and unfriendly learning environment. The government and stakeholders should put in place a conducive environment for all children, girls, and boys, to learn, lead, decide and thrive” stressed Madeline, a senior four student. The consultations will help to enhance greater momentum in advance of the September Summit and a shared understanding as to the key elements of transforming education to inform the SG’s Summit Summary and Call to Action

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Press Release

04 July 2022

Urgent funding needed as multiple interconnected shocks plight the people of South Sudan

(Juba, 4 July 2022) Life-saving humanitarian operations have been either suspended, reduced, or will be terminated if the funding situation remains as it is. Current estimates indicate that US$400 million dollars are urgently required to provide minimum humanitarian services to alleviate people’s immediate needs. If not addressed, these funding gaps will leave millions of the most vulnerable people at risk of losing access to vital humanitarian assistance and protection. “The humanitarian context in South Sudan is daunting and is the worst that it has ever been. Everything including protection of women and girls, food, nutrition, and shelter, is needed. There are over two million people displaced in South Sudan, and absence of funding means that those in camps risk to be left in critical need of water, sanitation and hygiene, and health services. The lack of safety and security will further deepen these risks. The resources have dwindled, but lives should not”, said Ms. Sara Beysolow Nyanti, Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan. For over a decade, the people of South Sudan faced multiple crises. People’s lives have been shattered by years of conflict, social and political instability, unprecedented climate shocks, ongoing violence, frequent displacements, the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, food insecurity and multiple disease outbreaks. In South Sudan, some 8.9 million people, more than two-thirds of the population, are estimated to need significant humanitarian assistance and protection in 2022. The Humanitarian Response Plan requests US$1.7 billion to target 6.8 million people with life-saving assistance and protection services. Currently, the humanitarian response plan is funded only at 27 per cent, almost 14 per cent of which was funded by the OCHA-managed Pooled Funds Central Emergency Response Fund and South Sudan Humanitarian Fund. “With such funding gaps, vulnerable suffer more and humanitarian partners are forced to prioritize, making heart-wrenching choices between severe needs. We cannot give up because the cost of inaction is too high, and people in need cannot afford to pay this price. We need urgent funds, and are appealing to the world to remember the most vulnerable in South Sudan”, stated Ms. Nyanti. The funding gaps are across all humanitarian interventions in the country and severe consequences are likely if urgent financing is not secured. The lack of funding for nutrition support will immediately leave 127,000 children, and 115,000 pregnant or lactating women without vital treatment services. An estimated 1.9 million people will not have access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene services without more funds. As a consequence, illness is likely to rise placing an increased burden on health facilities and drive rising trends of malnutrition. Women and girls risk gender-based violence when attempting to seek water and access to sanitation outside their homes. Food security and livelihoods interruptions will affect almost two million people. Without urgent funding, 1.3 million protection services for an estimated 900,000 people will not be provided. In education, the lack of funding will result in 700,000 vulnerable boys and girls with no access to safe learning spaces and will increase school dropouts, risking 3.5 million children being out of school. Without further funding, eight camps for internally displaced people be left unmanaged. The recent reduction in funding for health interventions directly impacted 220 primary health care units and nine state hospitals, and they risk being forced to discontinue services from August. 2.5 million people who are already in vulnerable health conditions will not have access to health services. Notes to editors Humanitarian impact of the break of funding pipeline per clusters Nutrition programmes need US$39 million to support immediate vulnerable needs of 127,000 children (6-59 months) and 115,000 pregnant or lactating women. Some US$117 million by the end of July will prevent 285,163 children and 270,219 pregnant or lactating women’s access to vital treatment services. This puts thousands of children and women at higher risk of death and will jeopardize all gains made to safeguard children and women’s lives. The deterioration of nutrition conditions will further increase the burden and cost to reach the most vulnerable, as children who are severely wasted are 11.6 times more likely to die than children with a normal weight and height. The immediate, urgent ask to support the water, sanitation and hygiene interventions is US$19.6 million. Without this funding, an estimated 1.9 million people will not have access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene services. Of these are 300,000 people in internal displacement camps. Prepositioning of core relief items for some 700,000 projected flood affected people will not be possible, 300,000 people will risk cholera in some areas, 582,000 children under five will be exposed to increased diarrheal disease and will be at risk of dying from severe malnutrition. The lack of funding will have crosscutting consequences such as increased burden on health facilities, increased gender-based violence, affecting women and girls, high likelihood of rising trends of malnutrition. Due to funding shortages, the World Food Programme (WFP) has suspended food assistance to 1.7 million people in June. WFP had planned to support 6.2 million people in 2022 with food assistance. For the next 6 months, WFP requires US$426 million to be able to feed 6 million people. Similarly, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) faces a gap of over 70% to reach the targeted 6 million people with a total funding appeal of US$65 million, of which only US$17.5 million has been committed. The situation is especially urgent as the main planting season ends on 15 July. FAO requires US$47.5 million to support emergency food production and livelihoods such as hand tools, vegetables seeds, fishing kits and livestock inputs. The gap for the remaining partners delivering support for food security and livelihoods is estimated at US$65 million. South Sudan remains one of the worst protection crises in the world. Without urgent funding of US$30 million, 1.3 million protection services for estimated 900,000 people will not be provided. This will affect psychosocial support to more than 50,000 people, cash-based protection interventions to more than 150,000 people, protection monitoring for identification of most vulnerable, including female headed households, persons with disabilities, awareness raising to 630,000 peoples, peacebuilding activities to more than 600,000 people. The impact will put 508,620 children and adolescents, including those with disabilities, at risk of life-threatening violence, exploitation, recruitment, abuse, and neglect, as they will not receive adequate and timely child protection services. Thirty-four per cent from the overall target, or 30,676 vulnerable women and girls, will not have access to dignity kits that contain sanitary pad and protective equipment. Sixteen women and girl friendly spaces will not be established in priority counties affected by crisis which will deny 78,392 vulnerable women and girls from accessing a critical safe space. In addition, they will lose a venue for livelihood activities, sexual and reproductive health information, and access to justice services. 68,168 (34% of the overall target) women, girls and GBV survivors will not have access to psychosocial support to build individual and community resilience and support positive coping mechanisms. As a result, they will suffer from psychological trauma, internalized shame, lack of power, depression, isolation, and possibly suicide. If funding is not granted, some 2,000 cases (extremely vulnerable and female headed households are prioritized) would not be processed with legal assistance, and some 10,000 persons would not get counselling on litigation/tenure support, or access to procedures, which may become serious potential threat for conflicts and tensions Partners who provide camp management and humanitarian service monitoring in eight major camps for internally displaced people in Jonglei, central Equatoria, Western Bhar Al Ghazal, Upper Nile and Unity states, face immediate funding gaps of US$9 million. This funding would sustain operations in the camps until the end of the year and provide services to the estimated two million internally displaced people spread across the country in smaller displacement sites. Without further funding, eight camps across the country will be left unmanaged. Without an additional minimum of US$10 million, half of the targeted people will not have shelter. The distribution of shelter and non-food items for people to help them cope with the rainy season will be impacted. The recent reduction in funding for health interventions has discontinued supporting 220 primary health care units from April. Support for nine state hospitals will discontinue from August. 901,412 consultations, antenatal services to 24,670 pregnant women, 2,114 safe deliveries (childbirth) and 59,221 children’s vaccination will be affected by discontinuation of support. Medical staff, essential medical supplies, and community health activities will not be available to provide regular health services to 2.5 million population. The reduction in the number of functional health facilities will impact health services for malaria prevention and treatment, routine immunization services screening for TB and malnutrition, mental health and psychosocial services, basic management of SGBV cases, treatment of respiratory infection and diarrhea, maternal and child health services. This will likely lead to increased morbidity and mortality. 2.5 million people are in dire need of health services in addition to 2.5 million population affected by reduced support to regular health services. Humanitarian partners providing health services require a minimum US$46 million targeting vulnerable population of 2.5 million for the next six months in 40 counties in dire need of humanitarian health services. Without an urgent US$20 million funding for education activities by end of July, estimated 700,000 vulnerable boys and girls in highest priority locations will have no access to safe learning spaces. This will result in increased school dropouts, putting a total out of school children at 3.5 million. A further estimated 350,000 girls out of school will be exposed to child protection issues and will be at higher risk of GBV and early child marriage/pregnancy affecting their mental health and well-being. 172 schools in internal displacement sites, supporting 94,657 learners (boys and girls) will close. If not provided with WASH/hygiene facilities in schools, children will be at a higher risk of communicable diseases. More children will be exposed to protection risks and engaged in child labour and child exploitation, older children joining the armed group. South Sudan is one of the most dangerous places for aid workers, with 319 violent incidents reported in 2021 targeting humanitarian personnel and assets, including 5 aid workers killed. Since the beginning of 2022, four humanitarian workers were killed in the line of duty.

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Press Release

21 March 2022

Communiqué issued jointly by H.E. Josephine Lagu, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security of the Republic of South Sudan, and by Ms. Sara Beysolow Nyanti, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan following the conclusion

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is a rigorous multi-partner process for food security and nutrition analysis and is a key element in decision-making for Government and other stakeholders. The IPC results are used by Government, United Nations Agencies, Non-Governmental Organisations, civil society and other relevant actors, as the best representation of the severity and magnitude of acute and chronic food insecurity, and acute malnutrition situations in the country. South Sudan has a long history with the IPC process, beginning during the preparations for Independence. Since 2007, South Sudan has been one of the early adopters, first as part of Sudan, then as an independent country, and has contributed significantly to the evolution of the IPC since its inception. The government of the Republic of South Sudan has long recognised the value the IPC can bring, utilising the insights, analyses and outputs to develop and coordinate evidence-based interventions to address hunger and malnutrition in the country. The 2022 IPC builds on the successes of previous years, drawing on expertise from the full range of actors engaged in food security in South Sudan. At the core of the IPC analysis is the two-week workshop, in which the Technical Working Group convened analysts from relevant agencies and sectors to examine the convergence of evidence following the IPC protocols and agree on classification and estimations of the population for the different categories. We note with satisfaction the success of this process in generating a shared understanding of the situation in South Sudan, based on open, transparent, inclusive and scientifically rigorous discussion between the technical experts. We are confident that this process will facilitate fruitful collaboration in pursuit of our common goal of protecting and improving lives and livelihoods of the population of South Sudan.

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Press Release

30 November 2021

The UN Country Management Team in South Sudan presents draft findings from UN Common Country Analysis and Independent Evaluation from 2019-2022 United Nations Cooperation Framework

The UNCT held a multi-stakeholder workshop on 25 November to present the findings from CCA and the independent evaluation of the 2019-2022 United Nations Cooperation Framework (UNCF). The workshop was attended by 130 key stakeholders including the Government, Development Partners, Civil Society, NGOs, Private Sector, Media, and UN Agencies, and UNMISS. The conclusions from the workshop will inform the formulation of the next UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for the period 2023 - 2025, which will replace the current UNCF due to end in December 2022. The new UNSDCF will be anchored to the South Sudan Revised National Development Strategy (R-NDS), and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The CCA provides a snapshot of the country’s context and dynamics of development in the country to inform the programmatic. The CCA identifies current development issues and challenges and their underlying causes. The workshop enabled stakeholders to validate the key challenges and issues identified in the CCA, as well as the findings and recommendations from the 22019-2022 UNCF evaluation. In his opening remarks Mr Meshack Malo RC/HC ai remarked: “Findings from the independent evaluation of the UNCF and CCA, along with the emerging findings of the National Development Strategy and the 2030 agenda will inform the priorities of the next UN Sustainable Cooperation Framework for the period of January 2023 to December 2025” “Achieving sustainable development in South Sudan is not about our individual entities, but what we can do together for the people of South Sudan. The Framework will profoundly guide our working between 2023-2025” stressed Meshack. The next step after the CCA/UNCF evaluation workshop will be the UNCT Visioning workshop on 30 November 2021. The outcome of the workshop will be the definition of the impact level change that the UN wishes to see and is able to contribute to in South Sudan by 2030. This will be followed by the Strategic Prioritization Workshop on 7-9 December 2021, where the same participants/stakeholders of the validation workshop will be invited to deliberate and agree on broad priority areas for the 2023-2025 UNSDCF.

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Press Release

01 November 2021

Additional investment in flood mitigation needed to avert climate disaster in South Sudan

(Juba, 29 October 2021) As flooding continues to impact people throughout South Sudan, the humanitarian community is working with the Government of South Sudan to support the hundreds of thousands of people affected. Close to 800,000 people have been affected to date by rising waters across the country since May, in particular in Jonglei, Unity, and Upper Nile states. On 28 October, a high-level visit to Bor County, Jonglei State brought together a diverse group ranging from the United Nations (UN) peace, development and humanitarian pillars, Government of South Sudan represented by the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC) and the Office of H.E. Vice President Rebecca Nyandeng De Mabior, Embassy of Turkey as well as the University of Juba, to see firsthand the impact of the flooding. “Through this visit, we heard the voices of the people, the government and teams responding to the flooding in Jonglei State,” Arafat Jamal, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim in South Sudan, said. “We witnessed the devastating effects of flooding but also saw hopeful efforts in terms of flood mitigation which has saved countless lives.” Affected communities spoke of entire villages uprooted as water inundated homes and farmlands, as well as a dramatic reduction in their access to essential health services, especially for expectant mothers. Concerns regarding the disruption to education were also raised, with parents increasingly worried about the impact of displacement on their children. “Through the distribution of food assistance, shelter items, lives have been saved – but it’s not enough. The UN humanitarian response is just 64 percent funded,” noted Jamal. The Resident Coordinator also pledged the continued support of the humanitarian community to the people of South Sudan and called for more intensive efforts to help communities adapt to changing weather patterns which has affected food security and sparked conflict as people seek safety on higher ground. “We are looking at what we can do better, including to reorientate our assistance to development initiatives such as investment in dykes, canals, extraction pumps, and intensive dialogues with communities to ensure peaceful coexistence.” On the ground in Jonglei, the visiting delegation met with communities who have already established a system for disaster management, and also witnessed the government taking responsibility. “At the national level, the Government has committed an unprecedented US $10million to support flood relief efforts, which will be implemented in partnership with the international community,” noted Jamal. Climate adaptation projects also sent a positive signal, with early works on a 180km dyke, which is five meters high and 20 meters wide, now underway. The dyke will stretch from Bor to Malakal and will protect a huge swathe of territory including livestock, farmlands and all communities along the way. Calling for the international community to build on the Government’s efforts to avert a climate catastrophe, Jamal underscored the UN’s commitment to save lives in the immediate term but also to look ahead. “Our desire to work together with the people of South Sudan and to help this country which is on the frontline of the global climate crisis. We are here to support communities as they deal with the increasingly frequent flood and drought events.”

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Press Release

20 August 2021

On World Humanitarian Day, South Sudan’s Humanitarian Country Team warns of a climate emergency and calls for an end to violence against aid workers in South Sudan

(Juba, 19 August 2021) Every year on World Humanitarian Day (WHD), we commemorate humanitarian workers who work tirelessly to reach millions of crisis-affected people with assistance and protection. Humanitarians work on the frontlines of crises, getting aid and protection to those in need. Today, those front-lines include not only battlefields, but the flood plains and the scorched landscapes of the global climate emergency, whose effects are painfully apparent in South Sudan. Climate change fuels conflict over shrinking resources and puts humanitarians in harm’s way. South Sudan’s Humanitarian Country Team calls for determined and collective climate action, and a firm end to violence against civilians and aid workers. “South Sudan is ranked among the five countries in the world most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and populations across the country are already suffering the impacts with devastating consequences, including disaster displacement,” said Arafat Jamal, the Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim for South Sudan. “Vulnerable populations are on the frontlines of the climate emergency, and are being battered by cycles of disasters, further eroding their ability to recover and rebuild their lives.” South Sudan regularly experiences torrential rains, seasonal flooding and locust infestation in parts of the country – and it is its most vulnerable people who suffer the effects in life changing ways. Last year, more than a million people were impacted by a second consecutive year of major flooding, with women and children most affected. This year the effects continue to be felt, with a worsening food security situation and some communities are now facing catastrophic needs. The levels of food insecurity and malnutrition are at the highest since independence ten years ago. “Flooding is not a new phenomenon in South Sudan, described biblically as the ‘nation whose land the rivers have spoiled’, Jamal observed. What is new is the intensity and frequency of inundation, colliding with conflict fueled migration patterns that have led communities to seek safety from violence on riverbanks, leaving them exposed to rising waters. “Two weeks ago I visited Ayod County, I spoke to flood-affected communities who told me that the waters from last years disaster had yet to fully recede before new flooding took place. With their fields waterlogged and their livestock marooned on small islands, they collapse into a state of humanitarian need, where the basics of survival food, health, clean drinking water — must be provided.” And yet, while the climate emergency becomes more acute in South Sudan, including an intensification and frequency of extreme weather, the very people responding with life-saving assistance are facing increasingly dangerous conditions. Every day, aid workers, most of whom are South Sudanese, find themselves in the crosshairs of violent action, and every day, they are risking their lives to provide assistance to the most vulnerable people in need in South Sudan. Since March 2021, there has been a rise in the number of attacks against aid worker who serve the community. Ambushes and attacks on clearly marked humanitarian convoys including ambulances also increased. Four aid workers were killed carrying out their duties this year. Their deaths bring the number of aid workers killed in South Sudan since 2013 when conflict broke out to 128. Most were South Sudanese. “Today we pause to remember all humanitarian and aid workers whose lives were taken from them in the course of their humanitarian work,” Jamal said. “We also salute the courage of humanitarian workers serving in isolated and insecure locations, doing crucial and lifesaving work.” When aid workers are endangered or under attack, vulnerable people who need food, health services, access to clean water, nutrition and education services, are deprived of the much needed help. “The trend of increased violence against humanitarian workers, civilians and assets cannot continue, and is a violation of international humanitarian law. Humanitarian workers must be able to safely reach people in remote and highly food-insecure areas and those in conflict- or flood-affected areas without the threat of attack,” added Jamal. “Time is already running out for millions of the most vulnerable people here – those who have contributed least to the climate emergency but are hit the hardest,” concluded the Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim in South Sudan. “World Humanitarian Day is an opportunity for all to re-commit to the values that underpin humanitarianism.”

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