A Long Walk to Water: Home

"The Republic of South Sudan is located in northeast Africa. South Sudan was first established as a result of a comprehensive peace agreement between the Republic of the Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) following the Second Sudanese Civil War ... "

"South Sudan officials diverted millions of dollars of state funds that are badly needed by civilians as the country staggers away from civil war, a United Nations commission said on Thursday ... "

"UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is warning today of the potentially devastating impact of a COVID-19 outbreak in South Sudan. Years of conflict and a number of recent natural disasters have left many internally displaced people, refugees and host communities throughout the country struggling to meet their basic needs and now particularly vulnerable to the threat of COVID-19 ... "

"The unresolved conflict has prevented displaced people from returning home, increased their vulnerability and is severely hampering basic service provision for 7.5 million people, including 4.1 million children ... "

"South Sudan may have closed schools in mid-March as part of precautions to fight the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic but more than four months on, authorities are under intense pressure to reopen schools to save children from external hardships ... "

A report by UNICEF that includes a range of Humanitarian issues related to Sudan.

Infographic of the United States Aid responses regarding Internally Displaced People (IDPs), conflicts and US countrywide aid programs in South Sudan (May, 2021)

"Increasing intercommunal violence and attacks, the threat of the peace process unraveling, and dire humanitarian conditions across large swaths of South Sudan has placed renewed urgency on improving security and meeting basic protection needs for South Sudan’s civilians." (August 2021)

"Sudan faces ecological crises like water scarcity and desertification. Rural Sudanese are displaced often by changing landscapes and a lack of agricultural production ... "

"In South Sudan, only 55% of the people have access to safe drinking water ... "

"In South Sudan, water supply and hygiene services have been deeply affected by the ongoing conflict. It’s estimated that just under half of the population has access to safe water ... "

"Water for South Sudan's operations teams, based in Wau, work in remote villages in the Bahr el Ghazal region of South Sudan. These isolated villages have extremely limited access to clean water, and often can only access contaminated water that will lead to sickness or even death ... "

"Attributed variously to corruption and neglect of water pumps and infrastructure under the former regime, parts of Sudan are suffering severe drinking water shortages ... "

"Each year the United Nations releases a World Water Development Report, a document that explores potential solutions to the globe’s water problems. The 2018 report focuses on “nature based solutions ... "

" ... Our in-country teams build water wells, sand dams, spring protections, and other water solutions. Then, we make sure they keep working through regular follow-up and maintenance ... "

"OCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) coordinates the global emergency response to save lives and protect people in humanitarian crises. We advocate for effective and principled humanitarian action by all, for all."

InfoNile "Mapping stories on water issues in the Nile Basin." July 2021

"Veterinarians are trying to stave off famine in parts of South Sudan, either through ongoing livestock vaccinations or new efforts to introduce breeds that will thrive under the harsh conditions in the war-torn country ... "

"Ongoing conflict in South Sudan has had a domino effect on the nation's health. Here, David Traynor, Concern's Programme Quality Coordinator explains what is being done to remedy this, with support from the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations ... "

"Civil war has ravaged once-bountiful Equatoria, now a wasteland of looted shops and abandoned homes, with close to 400,000 people desperate for food ... "

" ... Continued conflict makes humanitarian access to many areas extremely difficult, as well as being deadly and disruptive for civilians ... "

"In South Sudan, 4.5 million people are facing severe food insecurity and more than 7 million people — about two thirds of the population — are in need of some sort of help ... "

"The people of South Sudan have been “deliberately starved” in different parts of the country for ethnic and political reasons, and sexual violence against women and men as a weapon of war is ongoing, UN investigators said on Thursday ... "

"In South Sudan, the violent and brutal war has put millions at risk. Women, men and children that fled their homes in search of safety are now finding a new threat - hunger ... "

"On February 22nd, two long time foes, President Salva Kiir and Riek Machar signed a power-sharing agreement to formally end South Sudan’s brutal six-year civil war. The accord determined that Machar and other opposition leaders would be vice-presidents in a new government of national unity ... "

"Years of conflict in South Sudan have compromised the economy, and left many South Sudanese hungry. Last December, the World Food Programme warned against potential famine in the country, which WFP Executive Director David Beasley said is in “serious trouble.” ... "

"Oxfam have called for action to prevent millions of people in South Sudan being hit by a deadly famine ... "

"Recurring local violence in Jonglei, in the eastern part of South Sudan, has displaced more than 150,000 people since May, according to data reported by UN OCHA and the Conflict Sensitivity Research Facility ... "

"Children in the world’s youngest nation are enduring a deepening crisis. Since the outbreak of fighting in December 2013, humanitarian needs in South Sudan have escalated to alarming levels. In 2017, the worst drought in decades has brought South Sudan to the brink of famine ... "

"In the analysis period of January 2020, 5.29 million people (45.2% of the population) are estimated to have faced Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or worse acute food insecurity, of which 1.11 million people faced Emergency (IPC Phase 4) acute food insecurity ... "

"South Sudan Emergency...What the World Food Programme is doing to respond to the South Sudan emergency" 2021

An "Open letter backing UN call to action says Covid has exacerbated problems of conflict, climate crisis and inequality" The Guardian newspaper (April 20, 2021)

"At least 2.2 million school-aged children have dropped out of schools in South Sudan due to the ongoing political and economic problems in the war-hit nation, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said ... "

"South Sudan gained independence from Sudan on 9 July 2011. The fifty-year long war between North and South Sudan bred a culture of violence that still pervades. Even after the independence of South Sudan, the new nation has been confronted by internal conflicts that continue to create a humanitarian crisis with displacement of populations and reversal of development gains ... "

"Around the world and through the decades, we have all shared in the global struggle for gender equality. This International Women’s Day, UN Women’s multi-generational campaign, Generation Equality, brings together past and present advocates to demand gender equality in this generation."

"South Sudan was declared independent in July, 2011 and is the world’s youngest nation, with half of its population living below the international poverty life. Even though women account for over 60% of the population in South Sudan, conflicts, discrimination, negative social and cultural norms undermine their economic empowerment ... "

"Margret Raman, 38, a single mother of five, two boys and three girls, is one of the several women in Yambio, South Sudan who is bearing the brunt of the Covid-19 pandemic. “Since the announcement of Covid-19, our lives have never been the same ... "

"Girls are least likely to be in school in South Sudan, with nearly three-quarters of school-age girls out of the classroom, followed by Central African Republic, Niger and Afghanistan, all countries hit by conflict, a report said on Tuesday ... "

"South Sudanese women on Thursday called for gender equality within key peace mechanisms to expedite peace implementation and help reduce levels of violence ... "

"Formerly a semi-autonomous region within the Republic of Sudan, the new state is the result of a referendum on independence in which roughly 99% of the predominantly African, Christian or animist Southerners elected to split from the largely Muslim, Arab North. For more than two decades, the two had been engaged in Africa’s longest civil war, a conflict in which staggering numbers of innocent civilians paid the price: 4 million displaced, 2 million killed and 2 million women raped ... "

"The fighting in South Sudan has affected millions of people. People have died, others have been severely injured. And some have been separated from the people they love and displaced from the places they call home ... "

This report was published in July 2021. It is an extensive document. It has a detailed Table of Contents that should be used to find the relevant sections of the report.

This link will provide you with access to up-to-date statistics relating to the refugee problems in South Sudan.

"Six years after the outbreak of violence in South Sudan, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi is calling on all parties to boost efforts to form an inclusive national unity government in order to achieve permanent peace ... "

"Armed conflict in South Sudan has declined since the parties to the civil war signed a peace agreement in September 2018; however, implementation of the deal is lagging and the political situation remains fragile. Meanwhile, poor rule of law and easy access to arms has resulted in an increase in inter- and intra-communal violence that continues to displace people ... "

"For hundreds of thousands of South Sudanese refugees in Uganda debating whether to stay put or return home, a new series of potentially deadly considerations have emerged ... "

" ... Chaplain Logonda was in his mud-walled house and getting ready to leave when he heard the sound of gunfire and rushed outside. "I saw the government soldiers. They were coming and four of them lined up," he said. ... "

"Refugee advocates warn of a crisis within a crisis after COVID-19 cases were confirmed in a crowded camp in South Sudan. The problem is compounded by the closure of international borders, which is putting resettlement travel on ice ... "

"Six years ago, before South Sudan erupted into civil war, Lok Ruei was healthy. But two years after moving into the U.N. protected site in Malakal town, the 37-year-old father of six contracted tuberculosis ... "

"The typical image of a refugee camp doesn’t usually consist of flourishing green gardens, abundant with crops. Yet here in Palabek refugee camp, an innovative permagarden project is providing hope for refugees who have fled from South Sudan’s harrowing conflict ... "

United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Operational Data Portal: July 2021 data (maps and graphs) about the location of South Sudanese refugees in Africa.

Data: July 30, 2021