South Sudan Humanitarian Fund Annual Report 2022

2022 in Review

HUMANITARIAN CONTEXT

Humanitarian situation in 2022

The humanitarian situation in South Sudan worsened in 2022, driven by long-standing conflict, sub-national violence, food insecurity, climate change and public health crises.

By the end of 2022, the about 9.4 million needed humanitarian assistance, compared with 8.9 people at the beginning of the year. This includes 2.2 million women and 4.9 million children who are projected to require humanitarian and protection services in 2023, representing 76 per cent of the country’s population and a five per cent increase in the number of people who require direct humanitarian assistance (HNO 2023).

Prolonged flooding conditions

Flooding has led to multiple displacements and increased vulnerability in already affected locations. Torrential rain and floods, persisting for the fourth consecutive year, have displaced 2.2 million people – one third of South Sudan’s total displaced population. Flooding drives secondary displacement, affecting the most vulnerable people.

The unusually high flooding since 2019 has multiple causes: unusually high levels of rainfall within South Sudan itself, increased rainfall and water levels in neighboring countries upstream, and a lack of an effective river system management.

Climate change is making rural communities more vulnerable as there is a decline in the availability of cultivable land. Moreover, seasonal migration routes used by pastoralists and their livestock are affected as water availability becomes unpredictable, forcing them to search for grazing areas and water sources, which often contributes to conflict. As of 31 December 2022, the severe flooding had affected over one million people, as confirmed by reports, spanning 39 counties across South Sudan and in the southern part of the Abyei Administrative Area.

Population movements

Continued conflict and instability in South Sudan, combined with flooding, have resulted in largescale internal and cross-border displacement. About 2.2 million people are displaced within the country, mainly because of floods and ongoing conflicts that have both persisted and emerged in states such as Jonglei, Unity, Upper Nile and Warrap states.

Additionally, more than 2.3 million South Sudanese refugees have sought shelter in the neighboring countries. At least 148,000 returnees from abroad remain displaced within the country, unable to reach their homes.

The lack of durable solutions, inadequate capacities and institutional preparedness to prevent and address internal displacement have left internally displaced persons (IDPs) in dire circumstances. They continue to continue to live in camps, crowded settlements, or rely on the local host communities. Among them, there are some 329,000 refugees as well, predominantly from Sudan.

Security and access constraints

Inter-communal conflict presented significant obstacles to humanitarian access in 2022, and put humanitarian staff at considerable risk. Bureaucratic impediments, interference in the implementation of humanitarian activities and administrative requirements continue to impede an effective, timely, and principled humanitarian response.

Poor road conditions and unprecedented flooding of the Nile and other rivers since 2019 rendered physical access to the affected people extremely challenging, with some locations only accessible by air or river. .Access constraints continued to affect the humanitarian operations in 2022 with reported access incidents declining but increasing in intensity. About 450 incidents reported in 2022, compared with 591 in 2021, significantly impacting the response operations in areas where people face high levels of food insecurity and malnutrition South Sudan continues to be the most violent and dangerous context for aid workers. Between January and December 2022, 450 humanitarian access incidents were reported, and nine humanitarian workers were killed in the line of duty, compared to five in 2021. More than 140 humanitarians lost their lives since 2013 – most of whom were South Sudanese nationals.

Food Insecurity and malnutrition

The food security situation for many South Sudanese people remains precarious, affecting twothirds of the country’s population.

Between April and July 2022, some 7.74 million people or 63 per cent of the population were estimated to face high levels of acute food insecurity, or in integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Phase 3 or above. This included 87,000 people in hard-to-reach areas in eight counties facing catastrophic food insecurity (IPC Phase 5). The food security situation risks severe deterioration due to combined impacts of conflict, poor macro-economic conditions, spiraling costs of food and fuel and farmlands and crops destroyed from four consecutive years of flooding in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Disease outbreaks

Communicable diseases, including measles and malaria, maternal mortality and neonatal health continued to be the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in South Sudan.

In December, the Ministry of Health declared a measles outbreak in South Sudan. Since January 2022, 31 deaths and 2,471 cases in 22 counties have been recorded. All ten states have been affected. With support from partners, the Government commenced vaccination campaigns, surveillance activities and active case search across the country aiming to contain the outbreak, measles vaccination campaigns have been conducted in 15 of the 22 counties. Malaria is the leading cause of morbidity, accounting for 33 per cent, followed by pneumonia and diarrhea.