South Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan 2015 | Midyear Update

Changes in context and Needs

Economic downturn is compounding the consequences of conflict

• Intensified violent conflict is destroying the viability of communities and generating new and recurrent displacements of vulnerable populations.

• Economic stress is generating inflation and shortages of critical goods and services.

• Deepening austerity is further threatening publicly managed social services, including the public health system.

• Food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition are deepening and spreading geographically.

• Aid agencies face both sharp increases in needs and significant constraints on humanitarian action.

People across South Sudan are struggling to manage the consequences and implications of multiple crises: political, economic and social. Even before the current crises, South Sudan was characterized by low human development indicators, nascent institutions, government austerity, fundamentally non-existent transport infrastructure and a climate system that renders more than half of the country physically inaccessible by road for six months of of the year. In the face of appalling suffering, humanitarian efforts have expanded and resulted in remarkable achievements. However, the changing context is deepening existing vulnerabilities and generating new humanitarian requirements, some in areas where aid agencies don’t yet have operations.