South Sudan
2023-06 Factsheet - South Sudan
June 2023
Beneficiaries receiving NFI assistance during distribution in Namutina. @DRC, 2022
Highlights
- 9.4 million people (76 percent) of South Sudan's population will need humanitarian and protection assistance in 2023.
- Additionally, 60% of the returnees from the Sudan conflict will also require humanitarian assistance.
- The Shelter and Non-Food Items (S/NFI) Cluster will target 1.46 million most vulnerable people out of the 2.98 million in need of assistance.
NFI
Shelter
Need analysis
- An estimated 9.4 million people in South Sudan out of the 12.4m, including refugees, are projected to need humanitarian assistance and protection services in 2023 – reflecting 76 percent of the country's population and a 5 percent increase from 2022.
- The situation has been exacerbated by the Sudan conflict, which has seen more than 250,000 flee Sudan and find refuge in South Sudan. The majority (95%) are South Sudanese returning to their original villages. The number continues to increase each day. Additionally, more than 2.3 million South Sudanese refugees are also hosted in the neighboring countries, and with the recent improvement in peace, many are reported to be returning across the country.
- Women and girls are continuously at risk of sexual-gender-based violence as they flee the conflict, are affected by natural disasters, and even are attacked while carrying out their daily routines as they care for their families needs. It is estimated that 2.8 million people risk physical violence, rape, and other gender-based violence forms.
- In 2023, the Shelter and Non-Food Items (S/NFI) Cluster aims to provide humanitarian assistance to an estimated 1.46 million people out of the 2.98 million people (about 49 percent) in need of S/NFI support. Under Cluster Objective 2, the cluster will focus on increasing direct emergency support to people affected by the crisis, including newly displaced people, people in protracted displacement, climate-related displacement, non-displaced people, and returnees. Under Cluster Objective 3, the cluster plans to build the resilience of at least 33 percent of the returnees, 58 percent of the displaced and crisis-affected community members, and 12 percent of the host community members. This will help increase their resilience, decrease their exposure to hazards, and mitigate probable protection risks through transitional and flood-resilient reconstruction and rehabilitation programmes (durable solutions).
- The S/NFI Cluster will also implement contextualized disaster risk reduction strategies as part of the S/NFI reconstruction programmes. Adopting a multi-sectoral approach (with other sectors) is a keystone intervention critical for dignity, survival, and meeting the holistic needs of the affected communities.
- Also observed is that most IDPs and returnee families have no access to land rights, and, in some cases, land disputes increase the tension with the host communities. The S/NFI Cluster will work closely with the HLP Task Force to find solutions to the HLP challenges which impede the provision of durable shelters (through advocacy and engaging with the national authorities). Accountability to the affected population and protection mainstreaming will be emphasized and mainstreamed in all SNFI responses.
- Regarding funding, the S/NFI Cluster activities 2023 are estimated at $35 million. This includes the costs of key items, such as framing materials, plastic sheets, kitchen sets, mosquito nets, and blankets. The bulky items are procured outside South Sudan, with commodity prices changing constantly in response to the fluctuations in the global supply chain.
- Challenge: However, the reduction in funding amidst the increased need and inflation (market instability) have negatively impacted the planned responses, including costs of transporting goods and the use of cash and voucher response modalities. The Cluster S-NFI Core Pipeline is underfunded (49%) - a 51% funding gap against the HRP. Core Pipeline's capacity to meet current and projected needs over the coming period is severely curtailed. Additionally, the IOM Core Pipeline has been stretched to meet the needs of returnees from Sudan, over and above the HRP caseload. In addition, the Cluster Core Pipeline had previously relied on the Logistics Cluster to transport some of its bulk supplies to logistic warehouses across the country. Removing this cost coverage has inadvertently increased the financial burden on the Core Pipeline and local partner capacity to respond across the country.
Response
- During the second quarter of 2023, cluster partners assisted at least 17% of the total target (235,185 individuals). Of this, 17,639 individuals assisted with shelter, 41,157 individuals assisted with NFI, and 176,389 individuals assisted with the flood kits.
- With the current Sudan crisis and an estimated 250,000 to have arrived in South Sudan, the SNFI continues to provide shelter and NFI assistance at the transit centers areas and returnee preferred final destinations.
- While the SNFI Cluster is scaling cash response modality in locations where the security is more stable and markets are functioning, however, the high inflation rate has had a negative impact on this approach.
- In addition, with the current security situation in most parts of the country (calm and stable), more returnees are expected to arrive and the SNFI cluster is advocating for long-term solutions (durable) as a response strategy. The Cluster is currently piloting transitional shelters in 3 out of the 10 states of South Sudan.
- During the period, Cluster Core Pipeline released 460 metric tons of S-NFI supplies to Cluster partners for emergency humanitarian response. The supplies included 32,684 plastic sheets, 5,574 wooden poles, 4,357 bamboo bundles, 14,981 bundles of rubber ropes,26,108 mosquito nets, 27,722 blankets, 4,493 kangas, 8,665 kitchen sets, 10,284 sleeping mats and 17,539 NFI bags. With the anticipated rains that result in heavy floods impeding access due to poor road condition, the Cluster is prepositioning items to established hubs as part of the preparedness plan.
Gaps / challenges
- A reduction in funding (51% funding gap) versus the increased needs with the returnee influx from Sudan.
- The high inflation coupled with limited access to some commodities (supply routes from Sudan have been affected by war) impede the implementation of CVA modality.
- Poor road network and insecurity in South Sudan makes transportation of items more costly (rely on air and water transportation).
- The scrapping off of transportation support by the logistics cluster requiring partners to plan for their transportation has significantly affected responses, particularly local partners with no/limited resources.
