April 9, 2017

Highlights

Relief agencies report high equipment registration fees and restrictions on NGO staff movement

USAID partners deliver emergency food, health, and other assistance

DART assesses conditions, response activities in Bor and Kapoeta South

Key Developments

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) continue to report bureaucratic impediments, such as extra fees related to staff work permits and communications equipment, which restrict access to populations in need across South Sudan. Despite significant humanitarian access constraints, relief agencies—including USAID partners—continue to provide life-saving emergency assistance to populations in need throughout the country.

In March, USAID/OFDA partner the International Organization for Migration (IOM) deployed two health rapid response teams to conduct vaccination campaigns against cholera and measles, reaching more than 144,000 people. In addition, the UN World Food Program (WFP)—with USAID/FFP support—has delivered emergency food assistance to approximately 2.4 million unique beneficiaries in South Sudan since the beginning of 2018.

CURRENT EVENTS

A congressional delegation, including U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, traveled to the capital city of Juba on March 26 to observe humanitarian conditions, consult with UN agencies and NGOs, and visit USG-funded interventions in South Sudan. During the trip, the delegation visited a WFP warehouse in Juba, as well as a USAID-funded road and school, while also observing emergency nutrition and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) activities. In addition, Senator Merkley met with UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for South Sudan David Shearer and provided an interview to a local radio station.

INSECURITY, DISPLACEMENT, AND HUMANITARIAN ACCESS

Relief organizations in South Sudan continue to report significant bureaucratic impediments to providing humanitarian assistance. Government of the Republic of South Sudan (GoRSS) Ministry of Telecommunications authorities recently reiterated the Ministry’s mid-February announcement that organizations must register all communication equipment and pay annual fees on each item. Relief organizations had not paid such fees as of early March and continue to work with authorities to resolve the issue.

In mid-March, NGOs operating in Fashoda County’s Kodok town, Upper Nile State, reported that local authorities had directed relief organizations to obtain prior clearance before traveling outside the town. Local GoRSS Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC) authorities in Fashoda’s Aburoc town are also interfering with NGO hiring and procurement processes, including fuel purchases, according to relief actors. In addition, local GoRSS Ministry of Labor officials in Jonglei State issued a March 20 directive to UN agencies and NGOs operating in the state’s Bor South, Duk, and Twic East counties to submit staff lists and work permit statuses.

RRC staff in Western Bahr el Ghazal State’s Wau town directed three NGOs providing health care, nutrition, and protection services in the state’s Greater Baggari area to suspend operations following the temporary detention of nearly 30 aid workers by Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA)-In Opposition authorities in late February, the UN reports. The suspension of activities disregards a February 15 circular by local RRC authorities directing armed elements in Western Bahr el Ghazal to ensure unhindered humanitarian access.

A March 13–14 interagency assessment to Upper Nile’s Ulang County identified nearly 15,500 internally displaced persons (IDPs), a majority of whom were displaced from areas of eastern Jonglei in December 2017 and January 2018 due to intercommunal violence and armed conflict. The assessment recorded 13,800 IDPs near Doma town and more than 1,700 IDPs sheltering in nearby Wunbut payam, according to the UN. Assessed IDPs required relief commodities and emergency food, health care, shelter, and WASH assistance.

In response to recent displacement, local NGO the South Sudan Development Agency (SSUDA)—with more than $34,800 in USAID/OFDA funding from the IOM-managed Rapid Response Fund (RRF)—is distributing life-saving emergency relief commodities to populations recently displaced by conflict and vulnerable host communities in Upper Nile’s Nasir and Ulang counties. In consultation with local stakeholders, SSUDA is providing blankets, kitchen sets, plastic sheeting, and sleeping mats to targeted beneficiaries.

Improved humanitarian access in Eastern Equatoria State’s Magwi County has enabled local NGO the South Sudan Older People’s Organization (SSOPO) to begin providing psychosocial support and capacity building services to IDPs and returnees, including older persons and individuals with disabilities. With more than $45,700 in USAID/OFDA-supported RRF funding, SSOPO is working with community volunteers to create peer-to-peer support groups that identify resilience strategies and provide referral support to beneficiaries in need of specialized services and emergency relief commodities.

Security conditions in Central Equatoria State’s Kajo-Keji County have improved following late 2017 clashes between government and opposition forces that resulted in population displacement and suspension of some relief activities, according to an early February security assessment by USAID/OFDA partner the American Refugee Committee (ARC). The organization reports that civilians travel freely between Kajo-Keji and neighboring Uganda and have begun harvesting crops from local gardens. ARC had resumed USAID/OFDA-supported protection and WASH activities in Kajo-Keji as of February 28 after suspending activities in response to clashes in the county during October 2017. The NGO recently distributed materials for construction of 75 emergency latrines in Kajo-Keji’s Kerwa IDP site. In addition, ARC has pre-positioned 650 dignity kits for women and girls in Kajo-Keji’s Moyo town and is procuring another 1,200 kits for distribution.

FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION

An assessment conducted by UN agencies, NGOs, and the GoRSS found that approximately 67 percent of households in Wau were food insecure and only 29 percent were consuming adequate quantities and types of food as of November 2017. In addition, one-third of households reported adopting negative coping strategies that significantly damage livelihoods—such as selling productive assets—to meet basic needs. The assessment concluded that protracted displacement, disrupted livelihoods, and increased prices resulting from ongoing conflict and extreme economic instability have severely restricted household food access. The assessment also recorded global acute malnutrition (GAM) levels of approximately 8 percent among children younger than five years of age, representing a slight improvement since September 2017, when GAM levels exceeded 13 percent. The UN World Health Organization (WHO) emergency GAM threshold is 15 percent.

In late March, USAID/FFP partner WFP provided more than 5,380 metric tons (MT) of emergency food assistance to nearly 360,000 severely food-insecure people in hard-to-reach areas of South Sudan through the integrated rapid response mechanism. With USAID/FFP support, WFP has reached approximately 2.4 million unique beneficiaries in South Sudan with life-saving food assistance since the beginning of 2018.

HEALTH AND WASH

Relief organizations recorded nearly 3,900 instances of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in South Sudan during 2017, representing a 36 percent increase compared to 2016, according to the UN. Relief actors report that the actual number of SGBV cases was likely much higher, with lack of access to medical services and social stigma contributing to underreporting of SGBV incidents across the country. It also remains unclear if the reported increase in SGBV cases during 2017 resulted from a greater number of incidents or improved reporting. Approximately 95 percent of reported SGBV cases involved women and girls, while nearly 20 percent of cases affected children, according to the UN. Physical assault remained the most commonly reported type of SGBV, followed by emotional abuse and sexual assault.

In response to widespread protection violations, USAID/OFDA partner ARC continues to provide emergency protection services to vulnerable populations in Kajo-Keji and Ulang. In February, the NGO’s women- and girl-friendly spaces in Ulang’s Barmach, Rirnyang, and Ulang Center payams assisted nearly 2,300 people. In addition, ARC-led information campaigns raised awareness of SGBV issues and resources, including sexual assault referral pathways, for nearly 7,000 people during the month. The NGO also distributed more than 750 dignity kits in Kajo-Keji and Ulang. With USAID/OFDA support, the NGO is expanding operations to Eastern Equatoria’s Budi County—an area where relief actors have reported significant protection violations, including SGBV incidents.

In March, USAID/OFDA partner IOM deployed two health rapid response teams to conduct vaccination campaigns in South Sudan. One team delivered oral cholera vaccines to more than 60,000 IDPs sheltering at UN Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) protection of civilians (PoC) sites in Wau and Upper Nile’s Malakal town. With the cholera vaccination campaign, IOM intends to mitigate future cholera outbreaks in the PoC sites and nearby IDP collection sites following the nationwide cholera outbreak that ended in February. IOM deployed a second health rapid response team during March that administered vaccines against measles for nearly 84,000 children ages six months–15 years in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State’s Aweil East County. Health actors reported 21 suspected measles cases in Aweil East from February 5–March 11. With USAID/OFDA funding, IOM continues to provide emergency health interventions across South Sudan, including support for rapid response teams to address acute health needs.

With $2.5 million in FY 2017 funding, USAID/OFDA partner Relief International is conducting emergency health, nutrition, and WASH interventions in Upper Nile’s Longochuk, Maiwut, Nasir, and Ulang counties. Between July 2017 and March 2018, the NGO provided WASH commodities—comprising water containers and/or hand pump repair kits—to nearly 9,300 households, rehabilitated nearly 30 boreholes, distributed approximately 2,700 hygiene kits, and reached at least 73,000 people with hygiene promotion campaigns. In addition, Relief International staff members have conducted nearly 10,600 consultations at local health facilities since January.

USG RESPONSE

From March 28–29, representatives from USAID/South Sudan and the USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) traveled to Jonglei’s Bor town to monitor USAID-supported programs and assess humanitarian conditions. The delegation visited project sites in rural areas surrounding Bor town that are supported by USAID partner Catholic Relief Services (CRS), which is implementing multi-year resilience-building activities to improve agriculture and food security, nutrition, and WASH conditions in Jonglei. The delegation also visited the UNMISS PoC site in Bor, where USAID/OFDA partner the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED) is coordinating emergency assistance for the estimated 2,300 IDPs sheltering at the site. ACTED and UNMISS emphasized the importance of improving drainage at the site given the approaching rainy season. Although the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) supported the voluntary relocation of an estimated 150 people from the Bor PoC to nearby Fangak County in December 2017, UNMISS reports additional relocations are unlikely due to the stalled peace talks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

USAID staff, including DART members, visited USAID partners and local officials in Eastern Equatoria’s Kapoeta South County from February 27 to March 1. USAID/OFDA partner Save the Children/U.S. (SC/US) has established outpatient therapeutic programs in Kapoeta South to treat acutely malnourished women and children, as well as a stabilization center to support acutely malnourished people with medical complications. SC/US also provides child protection services, mobile nutrition activities, and health interventions to diagnose and treat infectious diseases among children ages five years and younger. In addition, the NGO has trained 150 community-based distributors to provide pharmaceuticals to treat various diseases in Eastern Equatoria’s Budi, Kapoeta East, and Kapoeta South counties. Increased checkpoints and insecurity in areas of Kapoeta South have limited the ability of humanitarian organizations to transport, pre-position, and distribute emergency food and relief commodities, WFP reported. Local authorities also reported increased criminal activity resulting from economic hardship and food shortages in Kapoeta South in recent years.