Chief’s play a critically important role in communities’ right across South Sudan. They play a vital role in settling disputes, preventing armed conflict and fostering peace within and between communities. As the key intermediaries between local communities and higher levels of government, UN agencies and international NGOs, they have an essential role to play in informing, sensitising and mobilizing community members around critical social issues, such as COVID-19. However, due to their age many chiefs…

The COVID-19 pandemic has created challenges for forcibly displaced persons and the humanitarian organizations working to support them. With restrictions on movement and limited access to refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and stateless persons across the globe, UNHCR is supporting displaced communitiesto take the lead in the prevention of, and the response to, the existing and emerging protection needs of women, men, girls and boys of diverse backgrounds. This brief provides an overview of…

This report presents the outcome of a public perception survey on COVID-19 in South Sudan. The data analyzed in this report was collected in South Sudan’s 10 states between the 1st and the 31st of May 2020.

Peacebuilding organisations are at the heart of the response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in South Sudan. Saferworld spoke to their partners, Church and Development and the Organisation for Children’s Harmony, about how they are raising awareness of the pandemic and continuing to work with communities on safety and security concerns.   Read more

In this Policy Brief we have analyzed COVID-19 mortality in South Sudan. The Brief examines the distribution and correlates of the pandemic. State testing capacity unaccounted for, we find that South Sudan is actually one of the least hit countries in the region. Second, old age is a major risk factor for death in South Sudan, with persons 60 years or older 2000 percent more likely to die of the pandemic. Third, females, compared to…

The research used expert surveys on a set of conflict countries, to understand how Covid-19 pandemic responses were affecting conflict and peace process dynamics. The main findings were as follows: 1. It could have been expected that the Covid-19 crisis would have provided an incentive to opposing groups to ‘pull together’ around ceasefires and peace initiatives. However, experts were pessimistic overall about the pandemic’s impact on peace processes. Main causes for pessimism were the diversion…

The South Sudanese Eye Radio reported that South Sudan is likely to be the most dangerous country in the world for people infected by COVID-19. Additional reports, including the International Growth Centre’s recent brief, suggest that the economic impact of the COVID-19 induced lockdowns in Sub-Saharan Africa will perhaps be the most significant threat to the continent. Worsening matters, South Sudan’s oil reserves will likely run dry within the next 10-years and the COVID-19 virus has…

One of the ways in which COVID-19 had a negative impact on the implementation of the peace process was felt when the government decided to suspend the training of the unified forces as a precautionary measure – a decision that affected 29 000 combatants. The creation of a unified army was one of the core aspects of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), signed in 2018. Delays in the…

The COVID-19 Addendum to the 2020 Humanitarian Response Plan requests US$390 million and brings the overall humanitarian appeal for the year to $1.9 billion. The National COVID-19 Response Plan, which request $150 million, is included in this Addendum. Humanitarian organizations aim to assist 7.4 million people by the end of the year, up from the 5.6 million planned before the outbreak.   Download