Attachments
OPERATIONAL CONTEXT
Between January and December 2025, joint border monitoring by RRC, UNHCR, IOM, and partner HDC recorded 220,044 South Sudanese and Sudanese arrivals entering South Sudan and settling in Renk County. Of these, 41 percent crossed through unofficial border points (Atam, Bobnis, Omdulis, Gongbar, Emtidad) while 59 percent used the official Wunthow/Joda crossing. These movements were triggered mainly by the ongoing war in Sudan and climate‑related shocks, with families crossing alongside livestock in search of water and pasture due to very low rainfall in 2025. In the Eastern Corridor, both drivers have compounded increased protection risks and placed significant strain on humanitarian assistance, and host communities. Arrivals were primarily driven by ongoing war that contributed to escalating insecurity, family separation, loss of livelihoods, limited access to essential services, food shortages, and gender‑based violence. Among the new arrivals were people with specific needs, including older persons, unaccompanied and separated children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, persons with disabilities, and others facing heightened protection risks.
As of 5 May 2025, only one transit centre remained operational in Renk. This followed the closure of the first transit centre at the request of the University of Upper Nile, which reclaimed the facility for educational use to support local youth and academic activities. Over its two years of operation, the closed centre had provided temporary shelter to approximately 655 households/2,948 individuals as of April 2025, the majority of whom were women and children displaced by the conflict in Sudan.
The remaining Transit Center continued to operate well beyond its intended capacity of 3,000 individuals, and by December 2025, more than 10,000 people were still stranded and in need of emergency and relocation assistance. Humanitarian partners maintained the delivery of critical, life-saving services, including registration, mental health and psychosocial support, child protection, GBV response, health and nutrition services, WASH, food assistance, cash assistance, site management, and strengthened community engagement.
However, the scale of continued arrivals, the high level of vulnerability among displaced populations, and worsening conditions in areas of origin have kept needs extremely high. Sustained support and a reinforced operational presence in Renk remain essential to address the ongoing humanitarian pressures.