Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7 — a service provided by UN OCHA

South Sudan

South Sudan: Research Terms of Reference - Shocks Monitoring Index (SMI), Research Cycle SSD1902 (August 2022)

Attachments

Rationale & Objectives

2.1 Rationale

The dynamic and multi-faceted nature of the South Sudanese displacement crisis has created significant challenges for humanitarian information management. As a result of the continued insecurity and overall unpredictability of a sudden onset shock, it is becoming increasingly important to quickly identify and fill information gaps relating to potential areas of severe humanitarian distress in a systematic and timely manner.
In October and November 2020, the IPC identified six counties with populations facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity. These six counties had experienced large-scale shocks such as ongoing access constraints, conflict, or compounding climate shocks, which had likely resulted in high acute food insecurity. These events illustrate the importance of regular and sustained monitoring different types of shocks in order to identify areas facing a sudden deterioration of humanitarian conditions in order to guide the prioritisation of humanitarian assistance. For the purpose of this monitoring index, a shock is defined as an exogenous event that negatively affects a household or community’s ability to access food, WASH, livelihoods and other essential services such as healthcare.
As identified in the REACH report on the impact of shocks on food security in South Sudan, residents of South Sudan are vulnerable to various different types of shocks. The typology, occurrence, severity, reoccurrence and concurrence can all have different effects on the impact a shock has on a location's food security, engagement in negative coping strategies, and resilience to future shocks.3 Developing a better understanding of the frequency and severity of these different shocks is thus key to better predicting and understanding areas of humanitarian concern.