South Sudan
The Republic of South Sudan remains a theatre of armed conflict. HI supports Southern Sudanese people fleeing the fighting, in particular the most vulnerable, and focuses on rehabilitation care and psychosocial support in the country. HI also simultaneously fights discrimination against people with disabilities.
An HI staff member sits with Oliver, who lost his leg in a mine accident. | © Dieter Telemans/HI
Actions in process
HI has been operating in South Sudan since 2006, with a specific mandate to address the needs of persons with specific needs, heightened vulnerabilities and protection risks across the country.
From 2006 to 2013, HI carried out a range of projects, shifting progressively from an emergency response to a resilience approach. Since 2014, HI has been contributing to the urgent humanitarian response, integrating disability, age, gender, and vulnerability factors in all its actions.
HI South Sudan is based in Juba, with activities in various regions of the country. HI works with and through long-established partnerships with organizations of persons with disabilities and implements a variety of activities, including functional rehabilitation, individualized and group-based Mental Health Psychosocial Service Support and comprehensive protection case management, with disability inclusion a core transversal component. HI South Sudan projects range from emergency response to actions supporting long-term resilience and recovery due to the protracted nature of the crisis in the country.
Areas of intervention
concretely
Situation of the country
The Republic of South Sudan became the world’s newest nation when it gained independence on July 9, 2011. Renewed conflicts have heightened insecurity and access challenges throughout the country and worsened the humanitarian situation. Therefore, South Sudan remains caught in a web of fragility, economic stagnation, and instability a decade after independence.
Food insecurity is ubiquitous and is being reinforced by ongoing intercommunal conflict, displacement, and external shocks. The Ukraine crisis has also had an unprecedented impact on South Sudan, with inflation impacting the purchasing power of the population with no or limited sustainable livelihood options. South Sudan remains among the poorest countries in the world and four out of five South Sudanese still live below the international poverty line of $1.90 per day.
An estimated 2.2 million people are internally displaced in South Sudan. Additionally, there were 337,000 refugees in South Sudan in 2022 and returnees are estimated at 1.92 million people. The signing of the latest truce in September 2018 and subsequent formation of a unity government in February 2020 have provided a large measure of hope for recovery and peace building in South Sudan. Conflict events decreased significantly in 2022, allowing some refugees previously dispersed in the region to return. In 2023, the political turmoil in Sudan has led to limited adverse impact politically in South Sudan. However, the protracted nature of the conflict has continued to cause unprecedented human displacement. As of 16 October 2023, 317,993 people have been recorded crossing into South Sudan from Sudan since the onset of the conflict in April 20231. Initially, only returnees were dominant at the border points, but gradually the number of Sudanese refugees has continued to increase.
Beyond the immediate humanitarian needs of almost 9 million people, the underlying issues affecting the delivery of transparent, unified governance, economic development, security sector reform and investment in public services urgently need to be addressed.
- Number of HI staff members: 59
- Date the programme opened: 2006
