South Sudan
2024-03 Factsheet - South Sudan
Highlights
- 9 million people (73 percent) of South Sudan's population will need humanitarian and protection assistance in 2024.
- 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 1.4 million most vulnerable people out of the 2.1 million in need of assistance.
NFI
Shelter
Need analysis
According to South Sudan HNRP (2024), an estimated 9 million people, including refugees in South Sudan, will experience critical needs in 2024. The impact of the Sudan crisis resulted in the arrival of vulnerable population that require assistance, increasing market costs and further stretching people’s coping capacities. People in South Sudan suffer the consequences of development deficit characterized by chronic poverty, lack of livelihoods and limited access to basic social services. South Sudan is one the countries badly affected by climate change. To meet the needs of the 6 million people targeted in 2024, US$1.8 billion is required.
The Shelter and Non-Food Item (SNFI) Cluster estimates that 2.1 million people, especially IDPs, will need urgent shelter and NFI support in 2024. The cluster will target 1.4 million people, primarily in Upper Nile, Jonglei and Unity states where communal violence, floods and food insecurity are recurrent challenges. The ongoing Sudan crisis and the upcoming elections are likely to increase needs in some states. Shelter/NFI Cluster partners will require $46.79 million to target this population. Following its 2023-2025 strategy, the cluster will focus on ensuring shelter and NFI for 1.4 million conflict- and disaster-affected individuals, improving housing conditions for 400,000 people and enhancing the quality of assistance through feedback mechanisms. Additionally, it considers potential influxes of newly affected populations and their unique requirements, especially if they settle in camp-like settings. Considering the challenges in the supply chain and procurement processes, there is a need to pre-position contingency stocks in strategic locations to expedite responses.
Response
The SNFI Cluster will target 1.4 million people based on its vulnerability criteria, with 25 per cent being residents, 26 per cent returnees and 49 per cent IDPs. The cluster strongly emphasizes the geographical prioritization of its response, focusing on areas with the most severe needs. The distribution of NFI and shelter materials targets the most vulnerable due to sudden displacement, evictions, loss of household items and protracted displacement. These include households headed by women, children, the elderly, persons with disabilities and individuals with limited community connections. The cluster's activities are deeply rooted in accountability, community participation and ownership, with a keen focus on persons with disabilities, women and children and potential protection risks. Post-distribution monitoring (PDM) is integral to implementation, ensuring that services are efficient and holistic. Environmental considerations are also integrated, emphasizing sustainable materials and construction techniques to prevent environmental degradation. Regarding response modalities, 70 per cent of the planned response will be provided through an in-kind modality, while the remaining 30 per cent will involve CVA. In locations without functional markets, in-kind assistance will be deployed. However, CVA or a hybrid approach will be utilized where markets can support the intervention and it aligns with protection guidelines. In terms of logistics, the cluster manages a pipeline that procures and pre-positions stocks across the established hubs to facilitate front-line response. Mechanisms for stockpiling and pre-positioning will be further strengthened to ensure a timely and effective response. Collaboration and integration with other clusters is vital. The cluster will continue to conduct joint needs assessments and work closely with the Protection Cluster and government authorities to enhance HLP issues, gender mainstreaming, addressing GBV and the inclusion of persons with disabilities. Cooperation with the CCCM and WASH clusters will ensure the effective planning and maintenance of IDP sites and community infrastructure.
Gaps / challenges
- Resource constraints: The needs surpass the financial and partners' capacity due to multiple sudden emergencies (ongoing Sudan crisis). Cluster has received USD$ 10.19million (21.8%) of the overall required fund for 2024.
- MPC challenges: Shelter-specific activities cannot be achieved with the MPC modality. This is because the cost of implementing shelter-specific activities exceeds the Minimum Expenditure Basket (MEB).
- Operational challenges: While we continue to advocate for localization, there is still a low capacity of national NGOs that will likely impact the response quality. The Cluster continues to devote resources and establish ways of building local capacity through joint responses, trainings, partnerships, and mentorship. Additionally, the capacity of the government to respond to the needs remains a challenge.
- Access challenges: Humanitarian access due to conflict, flooding, and poor infrastructure remains a major impediment to service delivery. Civilians and humanitarians are threatened by targeted and indiscriminate killings, roadside ambushes, land mines, and explosive remnants of war. This is in addition to bureaucratic impediments, illegal checkpoints and fees, affecting the ability of humanitarian partners to reach vulnerable people with much-needed life-saving assistance. Furthermore, South Sudan has one of the least developed infrastructures globally. The road system has been affected by floods, and safety is never guaranteed, with air transport being the only reliable means of transport, making responses more costly.
- Economic challenges: The South Sudan economy is greatly affected by the ongoing inflation, limited banking, and network systems, and most locations do not have functioning markets, which limits the use of cash as a response modality.
