Attachments
Key Messages
• Armed violence and airstrikes, which escalated in March 2025, continue to displace thousands of people on the Sobat River, particularly in Nasir and Ulang counties. These areas were already experiencing “serious” levels of acute malnutrition, widespread acute food insecurity, and a cholera outbreak.
• A severe public health crisis is unfolding in the displacement sites, marked by a sharp uptick in disease rates and acute food shortages. In parallel, the humanitarian response is beset by broken supply lines, stockouts and serious access constraints, which have forced some partners to scale back lifesaving assistance.
• In the coming months – which coincide with the traditional ‘lean season’ – severe constraints on humanitarian operations, coupled with significant violence and recurrent displacement, will continue to fuel extreme health outcomes, increasing the risk of preventable loss of life.
Context & Rationale
Since February 14, armed violence and airstrikes have triggered mass displacement on the Sobat River, particularly in Nasir and Ulang counties. Displacement is occurring in severely vulnerable communities experiencing widespread acute food insecurity, “serious” levels of acute malnutrition, and an ongoing cholera outbreak. Available evidence suggests a public health crisis is deepening, and humanitarian actors face considerable obstacles to mitigating it.
REACH partnered with Relief International, Polish Humanitarian Action, UNKEA and GOAL to conduct a rapid qualitative needs assessment in displacement sites in Nasir, Ulang and Longochuk counties. The team conducted 49 focus group discussions (FGDs) with recently displaced persons and 9 key informant interviews (KIIs) with humanitarian actors, from March 24 to 30. REACH also reviewed facility-level health and inventory data shared by humanitarian actors.