ReliefWeb

Overview of the South Sudan situation

2.18 million
People internally displaced and non- South Sudanese refugees in South Sudan*
2.4 million
South Sudanese refugees hosted in neighbouring countries**
85%
Of South Sudanese refugees are women and children
7
Countries covered in this Appeal

*As of end December 2017: source HCT / UNHCR
**As of end December 2017: source UNHCR

Renewed violence in South Sudan, compounded by drought and the threat of famine, has led to the fastest growing refugee situation in Africa today and the world’s third biggest refugee crisis. Over one third of South Sudan’s estimated 12 million citizens are displaced, while more than half of the population is affected by the crisis, and nearly two million IDPs are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. The political and security situation inside the country remains volatile. Armed conflict persists, along with killings, abductions, rape and a general state of lawlessness.

The refugee exodus from South Sudan continues at an alarming rate, even as the crisis is entering its fifth year. Close to 2.4 million South Sudanese have fled to neighbouring countries mostly to Uganda—the largest host country in sub-Saharan Africa—followed by Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Central African Republic (CAR). Refugees from South Sudan have been granted prima facie refugee status by these countries, demonstrating strong commitment to refugee protection despite limited national resources. While South Sudan’s neighbours have generously upheld their responsibility to provide asylum and assistance to refugees, urgent large-scale support is needed for the refugee response.

Severe food insecurity further exacerbates the situation, leading to massive displacement and movements across the borders, with many refugee children facing alarming levels of malnutrition. The majority of the refugees are women and children, and nearly 63 percent of the South Sudanese refugees hosted in neighbouring countries are under the age of 18, many who have fled alone.

With the current levels of violence in South Sudan, displacement trends are expected to be high both within the country and across the area covered by the situation. UNHCR expects that the influx into neighbouring countries will continue and that an estimated 571,000 additional people will likely seek refuge. This would bring the estimated South Sudanese refugee population to 3.1 million—an increase of 18 per cent—by the end of December 2018. This population is urgently in need of protection, shelter and medical care. In South Sudan itself, some two million IDPs and 307,000 non-South Sudanese refugees are expected to be in need of assistance. This would bring the total number of people of concern to UNHCR in South Sudan to 2.3 million by the end of December 2018.

This Supplementary Appeal presents UNHCR’s financial requirements for its response, for which it is seeking $841.4 million including $99.4 million in urgent additional requirements from January to December 2018 to address the most pressing needs of South Sudanese IDPs and non- South Sudanese refugees in South Sudan, as well as South Soudanese refugees in neighbouring countries.

While continuing to support main host countries to ensure access to protection, UNHCR will give particular emphasis to protection interventions in border areas, including profiling and registration, responding to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and providing child protection, and promoting community-based approaches. Essential service delivery is prioritized to ensure refugees have life-saving and life-sustaining support.