South Sudan Humanitarian Crisis

• Approximately 67% of South Sudan’s population lives at the international poverty line, and the World Bank says, “GDP per-capita growth suggest that extreme poverty will likely continue to increase, reaching 73% of the population by 2024.” The inflation rate for consumer prices in South Sudan moved over the past 12 years between -0.1% and 380%.
• About 6.6 million people, or over half of South Sudan’s population (54%), are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity. High levels of food insecurity are likely to remain due to the impact of flooding and drought on livelihoods, persistent conflict, and reduced funding.
• An estimated 8 million people, or 64% of the population, in South Sudan will experience severe food insecurity by the peak of the 2023 lean season between April and July.
• As of May 11, more than 52,000 people arrived in South Sudan, fleeing the conflict in Sudan. The majority are South Sudanese returnees who had been residing in Sudan.
• One million people have been affected by four consecutive years of flooding that have submerged an area larger than Denmark.
• To address the most critical needs of 6.8 million people, the 2023 HRP will require $1.7 billion and “only timely and at-scale funding will enable us to respond to people’s needs.”
• South Sudan’s 2023 Regional Refugee Response Plan requires $1.33 billion to meet the critical needs of more than 2.2 million refugees and asylum seekers and 1.89 million members of their hosting communities.
• As of March 31, 2023, there are 2,292,103 South Sudanese refugees hosted in neighboring countries, with Uganda hosting 37% (865,363) of the total figure.
• Of the 2.2 million IDPs in South Sudan, 19% are in the state of Warrap, 17% in Unity and 14% each in Central Equatoria and Jonglei.
• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between January 1, 2022, and March 19, 2023, a total of 63 counties across all 10 states in South Sudan reported at least one suspected measles case, with confirmed outbreaks in 35 counties. The country is also battling a cholera outbreak that has killed two people as of March 23, 2023.
• Since April 2020, 18,368 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in South Sudan, with 138 deaths recorded.

South Sudan remains one of the least peaceful countries in the world, according to the 2021 Global Peace Index. The economic cost of the country’s violence is estimated at 42.1% of the total gross domestic product, which is second only to Syria globally.

Exacerbating the humanitarian situation in South Sudan is the fighting that erupted in neighboring Sudan in mid-April between the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces. As of May 11, more than 52,000 people arrived in South Sudan fleeing the conflict in Sudan. The majority are South Sudanese returnees who had been residing in Sudan.

Oxfam in Africa Director Fati N’Zi-Hassane said, “People fleeing the conflict in Sudan are in urgent need of assistance but they are arriving into countries already facing humanitarian crises, straining already stretched resources.” Non-government organizations in South Sudan have appealed for additional funding to meet the increasing needs due to the Sudan conflict.

On May 4, the UN and its partners launched an Emergency Response Plan to support people fleeing the conflict in neighboring Sudan. The plan appeals for $96 million to assist the people arriving in South Sudan.

South Sudan’s latest peace agreement, the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan, was signed in 2018. The agreement led to a fragile truce and resulted in the formation of the Transitional Government of National Unity in February 2020.

Although hostility between the government and the main opposition has decreased, the power-sharing logic of the peace agreement may be contributing to ongoing violence in the country rather than producing lasting peace.

The UN is concerned that South Sudan’s Transitional Government may not meet its critical benchmarks. In July 2022, the U.S. ended assistance for peace process monitoring mechanisms saying South Sudan’s leaders have shown “a lack of political will necessary to implement critical reforms.”

In August 2022, South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir announced the country’s transitional government would remain in power for another two years, delaying elections that were scheduled for December. The U.S., Britain and Norway have played key roles in mediating the peace process and expressed reservations about the extension.

In October 2022, members of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan said progress on the 2018 peace agreement has been extremely slow and called for urgent action to save lives. In March 2023, President Kiir appointed a member of his own party as defense minister. The move breaches part of the peace deal in which the position should be selected by the party of First Vice President and opposition leader, Riek Machar.

Increased tensions and conflict between armed factions in Upper Nile state in August resulted in thousands of people being displaced. According to UNHCR, the UN’s Refugee Agency, at least 200,000 people have been displaced there since August, with some forced to flee up to four times. Women and children and others at high risk make up most of those displaced. Some older people or those with disabilities have been unable to flee.

The situation remains dynamic, demonstrating the challenges faced by people fleeing conflict and violence and humanitarians providing aid. In conflict settings, some experts argue that aid in settings like South Sudan should be attuned to local political and conflict dynamics by applying conflict analysis.

Yasmin Sooka, Chairperson of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, warned UN-appointed human rights experts in September 2022 that the international community needs to pay more attention to the escalating violence at a local level all across the country. Subnational conflicts involving local militias continue to persist and have severe impacts on people. However, the country’s conflicts are not just between local militias and communities. Sexual violence remains widespread among rival communities. In 2021, violence in Tambura County of Western Equatoria saw human rights violations and abuses, including targeting civilians based on ethnicity and gender.

Amnesty International documented potential war crimes and other violations during the fighting in Western Equatoria. The various forms of violence threaten and undermine people’s physical and mental well-being.

An Amnesty International report released in May 2022 reveals how conflict-related sexual violence is ongoing in the country and how guns are used to facilitate sexual violence. In September 2022, a UN human rights team said incidents of rape had become so common in South Sudan that many women no longer report repeated sexual attacks. Rape victims lack access to medical and trauma care. An investigation by The New Humanitarian and Al Jazeera found that reports of sexual abuse by aid workers at an UN-run camp in the country have continued and recently increased.

Between April to June 2022, at least 188 incidents of violence affecting 922 civilians were recorded. The number of incidents of violence during this period represents a 9% increase compared to January to March 2022. Conflict-related sexual violence increased by 92% from April to June 2022. Conflict-related sexual violence increased by 92% from April to June 2022.

According to ACAPS analysis, humanitarian access remains highly constrained and violence against humanitarian workers is ongoing. Three aid workers were killed on duty in September 2022 alone. South Sudan continues to be one of the most dangerous places for aid workers, with nine humanitarian workers killed in 2022 and three humanitarian workers killed already in January 2023.

South Sudan is facing its worst flooding in decades. Four consecutive years of record-breaking rains and floods have covered two-thirds of the country and left people without food or land to cultivate. The devastating flooding has damaged shelters and schools, destroyed crops and household goods, reduced access to safe water and hindered humanitarian access. Hundreds of thousands of people in Bentiu, a northern city, are living beneath the water line, only protected by earthen dykes that require constant maintenance.As of Oct. 28, 2022, over 1 million people were verified as affected by torrential rain and flooding in 36 counties across South Sudan.

Communities prepare themselves for the rainy season by building dikes but in 2022, these preparations were not sufficient to hold back the water. As a result of the catastrophic flooding, humanitarian organizations, such as MSF, report witnessing a worrying increase in rates of moderate to severe acute malnutrition.

December to February are typically the driest months for South Sudan, when the rivers subside and the Sudd wetlands air out. The water from the previous floods is not receding before the next rains come. Dr. Liz Stephens, professor in climate risks and resilience at the University of Reading, said, “It will certainly take years for the floods from 2021 to recede, because the land is disconnected from the main river, so floodwaters have to evaporate rather than drain away.”

The effects of the flooding are severe and broad. According to the international non-government organization (NGO) CARE, the worsening flooding situation threatens an already fragile health system in South Sudan. In 2021, the flooding destroyed 161,055 acres (65,177 hectares) of agricultural land and killed 795,558 livestock. Around 835,000 people in 33 out of 78 counties in eight states were affected by flooding between May and December 2021.

South Sudan continues to face very high levels of acute food insecurity, with Emergency (IPC Phase 4) outcomes persisting in the worst conflict- and/or flood-affected areas. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), about 6.6 million people, or over half of South Sudan’s population (54%), are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity.

Many people who lost their 2021 harvest lost their livestock due to diseases caused by animals grazing on flooded fields. Collecting and eating plants is one coping strategy people have used. Thousands of people are being forced to move, perhaps permanently, from their traditional lands. With South Sudan already experiencing ethnic tensions and subnational conflict over resources, large scale displacements caused by flooding are likely to exacerbate the situation as people move into new lands.

The UNOCHA Oct. 11 flooding snapshot said, “In Unity, increasing water levels were reported in Rubkona and Bentiu towns, putting pressure on existing dykes. During the early hours of 9 October 2022, two areas of the dykes breached, and required immediate support to prevent water flooding the humanitarian hub, the IDP sites, and the UNMISS base. The water levels have now reached the highest levels experienced in 2021.”

According to UNOCHA, “The ongoing flood response is hampered by renewed violence and insecurity, inaccessibility due to impassible roads, broken bridges, flooded airstrips, the lack of air assets, the lack of critical core pipeline supplies and funding constraints.”

In February 2023, South Sudan’s Minister of Petroleum said the country’s oil production dropped to 140,000 barrels per day from 160,000 barrels per day in 2022 due to heavy flooding in the northern oil fields. Oil production, along with agriculture, is the most important sector of South Sudan’s economy, with oil contributing 90% of revenue, according to the World Bank.

Critical drivers of displacement in South Sudan are conflict, persistent poverty, food insecurity and flooding. There are more than 2.2 million IDPs in South Sudan, and more than 2.2 million South Sudanese are refugees in neighboring countries. The South Sudanese refugee crisis remains the largest in Africa. Around 15% of the refugee population are people with disabilities.

Many displaced people have been forced to relocate multiple times to seek better living conditions or flee violence. Women, girls and people with disabilities are at risk of sexual violence, both inside displacement sites and when collecting fuel or food in surrounding areas.

A macroeconomic crisis, linked to a decade of conflict, is a driver of South Sudan’s humanitarian crisis and contributes to displacement. The 2023 Global Report on Food Crises highlighted other drivers of the crisis, including very high staple food prices that are a result of insufficient domestic food supplies; low foreign currency reserves and the weak national currency; high fuel prices; and reduced imports from neighboring Uganda. These factors result in limited access to livelihoods, lack of agricultural opportunities and continued insecurity, which forces people to flee their homes in search of safety and food assistance.

In their February 2023 Humanitarian Snapshot, UNOCHA said, “Over 3,700 people were displaced to Mundri East County in Western Equatoria State, following clashes between armed cattle keepers and the local community in Katigiri boma, Juba County.”

In addition to conflict and violence, flooding remains another key driver of displacement in the country. Flooding has displaced more than 182,000 people, including 84,400 in Northern Bahr el Ghazal state alone. In their January 2023 Humanitarian Snapshot, UNOCHA said internal displacement hotspots are concentrated in the eastern and northeastern portions of the country.

According to South Sudan’s 2023 Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRRP), “Some of the vulnerabilities and risk stem from exposure to endemic violence and the impact of climate chocks in the country of origin and others are magnified by prolonged displacement in situations where the needs outstrip the available resources for assistance, compounded by environments not conducive to self-reliance.”

The refugee crisis is a children’s crisis; children between the ages of 0-17 make up over 50% of the population, according to the 2023 RRRP. Refugee children face particular risks, including child labor, abduction and exposure to being trafficked.

Of the five neighboring countries hosting South Sudanese refugees, Uganda hosts the most. The majority of refugees are situated in remote and economically underserved areas. Host communities are often in an unstable socioeconomic situation themselves, and new refugees’ arrival could further exacerbate hardship.

In September 2022, the return of 6,971 South Sudanese refugees was reported, compared with 3,142 in August. The increase is due to lack of livelihood opportunities elsewhere, deteriorating economic conditions in Ethiopia and reduced food in refugee camps.

Analyses by REACH in May 2022 found that the first reason people were returning to the country was for family reasons. Since the signing of the revitalized peace agreement in October 2018, nearly 600,000 refugee returnees have been reported. Displacements remain dynamic and fluid. In February 2023, South Sudan’s president urged the country’s refugees to return home.

The South Sudan 2023 HRP says, “Two-thirds of South Sudan’s population are affected by the precarious food security situation, making the country one of the worst food insecurity emergencies in the world. An estimated 8 million people or 64 per cent of the population in South Sudan will experience severe food insecurity by the peak of the 2023 lean season between April and July.”

The number of people in South Sudan who are going hungry is at the highest level ever, UN agencies said in their Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report released on Nov. 3. The IPC report says 1.4 million children under 5 will likely suffer from acute malnutrition in 2023 and that “humanitarian food assistance must be scaled up immediately to save lives and prevent a total collapse of livelihoods.”

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the WFP identified South Sudan as one of six “hunger hotspots” in their October 2022 report. The report says, “Coupled with macroeconomic challenges and impacts of prolonged conflict, new floods are expected to keep food insecurity at extreme levels, outbalancing the beneficial effects of a forthcoming harvesting period.”

The war in Ukraine has contributed to food shortages globally and has sent food and fuel prices soaring. WFP has been forced to suspend aid delivery in some parts of South Sudan due to a lack of funding. Two children and an adult died of starvation in a displacement camp in the northern Warrap state as the suspension of food aid began. According to WFP, “Since the beginning of the Ukraine crisis, the food basket cost per person per month saw an increase in all markets, reaching 272 percent, 128 percent, 117 percent, and 110 percent in Yida, Kapoeta, Wau and Bunj markets, respectively, as of the last week of September.”

The combined effects of devastating flooding, linked to climate change, and armed conflict have reduced agricultural production, led to a loss of livelihoods and destroyed household assets. In their January 2023 key message update, FEWS NET said, “South Sudan continues to face very high levels of acute food insecurity indicative of Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or worse outcomes, with Emergency (IPC Phase 4) outcomes persisting in the worst conflict- and/or flood-affected areas.”

According to UNOCHA in their September 2022 humanitarian snapshot, “Food prices increased by 32 per cent, compared to the previous month. Increasing malnutrition cases were reported in Canal/Pigi and Old Fangak counties in Jonglei, due to the impacts of conflict and floods on food sources.”

According to Oxfam research published in May 2022, “More than 80% of the respondents in the study pointed to the intercommunal conflicts and the recurring floods that have hit the region over the past three years as being the major drivers of the food security crisis.” Traditional sources of livelihoods for women have been depleted which contributed to an increase in gender inequality.

Adeyinka Badejo, WFP acting country director in South Sudan, said in April 2022, “Until conflict is addressed, we will continue to see these numbers increase because what it means is that people do not have safe access to their lands to cultivate.”