WFP South Sudan Country Brief, February 2023

In Numbers

13,880 mt of food distributed

USD 3.6 million in cash-based transfers distributed

USD 567 million six months net funding requirements (March – August 2023)

1.6 million people assisted in February 2023

Operational Updates Security situation

• Communal violence escalated in several states, including Jonglei, Upper Nile, Eastern Equatoria, Central Equatoria State, and the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA), among others. Violent clashes between armed cattle keepers and host community members in Kajo-keji County of Central Equatoria State, displaced 20,000 people and left 27 others dead. The violence in Jonglei State increased insecurity incidents characterized by increased armed attacks on humanitarian workers, assets, and operations, including looting of humanitarian food and other supplies from convoys.

Humanitarian situation

• The humanitarian situation in South Sudan remained a multidimensional crisis combining social, economic, security, political and public health challenges. The violence continued to drive displacement and increase humanitarian needs in the context of dwindling resources. On 22 February, a measles outbreak hit Malakal County of Upper Nile State, infecting 179 people and causing one death in ten days. This latest outbreak brought the total number of people infected in the country between January 2022 and February 2023 to 4,635 people and 47 deaths. In coordination with the Government, the World Health Organization (WHO) and other humanitarian partners continued to offer frontline health services, conduct water quality testing, and distribute emergency health supplies to the affected people, including cholera investigation and treatment kits.

Economic updates

• The South Sudanese Pound (SSP) continued to depreciate, hitting a new low and falling to its lowest level in history against the US dollar. The average reference and parallel rates stood at SSP 753 and SSP 775 per US dollar, respectively, in Juba. The national average cost of a standard food basket increased by 5 percent compared to January 2023. However, during the last week of February, the food basket cost increased by 10 to 25 percent in some WFP-monitored markets (Rumbek, Wau, Malakal, Kodok, and Old Fangak). Price hikes continued to worsen the vulnerability of poor households in a context where 3 in 4 people live below the international poverty line. Support to crisis-affected people

• In February, WFP distributed 13,880 mt of food and USD 3.6 million as cash-based transfers to 1.6 million people, including refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), rapid response mechanism and lean-season response through general food assistance (GFA), nutrition assistance, school feeding, food assistance for assets (FFA), and smallholder agriculture market access. This number represented 67 percent of the people targeted, with insecurity hampering WFP’s efforts to reach all the targeted people.

Nutrition assistance

• WFP provided specialized nutritious food to 50,770 children aged 6 – 59 months and 34,725 pregnant and lactating women and girls (PLWG) to treat moderate acute malnutrition, and conducted nutrition screenings to newly displaced persons in Kajo-Keji and Mundri East in Central Equatoria and Western Equatoria, respectively, following the recent violence in the area. Due to funding gaps, WFP malnutrition prevention programme targeted children aged 6-23 months instead of 6 – 59 months.

Safety nets and resilience

• WFP and FAO continued to co-lead the Task Team on Agriculture and Food Security of the Partnership for Peace, Recovery and Resilience (PfPRR). Following a decision in January 2023 to pilot PfPRR in Bentiu (Unity State), Wau (Western Bahr el Ghazal State), Ulang and Nasir (Upper Nile State), WFP participated in a stakeholder consultation meeting in Bentiu and Wau and led a scoping mission to Ulang and Nasir to discuss PfPRR pilot with the local governments and partners. Given a positive response from the actors in Ulang and Nasir, WFP planned to invite partners to join a stakeholder consultative meeting in Ulang and Nasir and develop a joint concept note for the PfPRR Steering Committee at the end of March.

Logistics operations

• By 28 February, WFP had 92,084 mt of food in South Sudan and had dispatched 46,281 mt to various locations. WFP plans to deliver 229,000 mt of food in 2023, with 205,000 mt needed before the rainy season in May, of which 98,000 mt would be for prepositioning ahead of the rainy season, and 107,000 mt would be just-in-time. WFP had prepositioned 49 percent of the 98,000 mt and 61 percent of the just-in-time stocks by 28 February.

• The insecurity along the Bor-Pibor road and the Bor-Gadiang highway continued to limit the delivery of food assistance to the affected people in parts of Jonglei State and the Greater Pibor Administrative Area. In coordination with other humanitarian partners, WFP continued to engage with the national, state and county-level authorities, including the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RCC) and local community leaders across the affected regions to address the rising security incidents to ensure the safety of the humanitarian staff and assets and access to the affected people.

Common services

• The Logistics Cluster facilitated the transport of 725 mt of nonfood items to 35 destinations on behalf of 30 organizations.

• UNHAS transported 5,486 passengers, representing an increase of 12 percent compared to January 2023. UNHAS also transported 180 mt of humanitarian supplies. By 28 February, UNHAS had supported 181 partners.