South Sudan

Fourteen years after gaining independence, including seven years after signing the most recent peace agreement, people in South Sudan continue to face deteriorating humanitarian conditions amidst a worsening economy. Conflict, subnational violence, public health challenges, climatic shocks, and large-scale displacement have severely affected people’s livelihoods and hindered access to essential services. Forced displacement in South Sudan is highly complex, with large numbers of internally displaced persons, refugees, and returnees living side by side with host communities.

Since the onset of the conflict in Sudan in April 2023, more than one million individuals have arrived in South Sudan from Sudan, including returnees, refugees, and asylum seekers. As of April 2025, more than 350,000 newly arrived Sudanese refugees in South Sudan have been transferred to existing refugee settlements in Upper Nile and Ruweng Administrative Area and to a newly established settlement in Aweil in Northern Bahr el Ghazal. More than 750,000 South Sudanese who had sought refuge in Sudan before the conflict were forced to return under adverse circumstances. Upon arrival in South Sudan, returnees indicate their intention for onward destinations – primarily to Upper Nile, Unity State, Central Equatoria, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Warrap and Western Bahr el Ghazal. Returnees are also finding their way to peri-urban centres such as Juba, Bor, Torit, Yei, and Malakal. UNHCR conducted a socioeconomic profiling exercise in Renk in November 2024, providing insight into the profiles of refugees and returnees from Sudan regarding skills, education, income and occupation.

The conflict in Sudan has had a catastrophic impact on South Sudan, disrupting trade and leading to a rise in food and commodities prices. This price surge exacerbates protection risks and vulnerabilities, further straining access to essential goods and services. It has also increased these communities’ food insecurity, negative coping mechanisms, and humanitarian needs. On top of this, climate change poses a significant additional threat to South Sudan, the second most vulnerable country to natural hazards globally in the 2024 INFORM Risk Index. 

Despite facing significant development challenges, including the impacts of climate change and high levels of displacement—particularly in border areas—the Government of South Sudan has upheld an open-door policy, allowing access to its territory for all individuals arriving from Sudan, including Sudanese refugees, other refugees, returnees, and third-country nationals. The Government has granted prima facie status recognition to all Sudanese affected by the current crisis. This conducive policy environment creates the momentum to facilitate development approaches that support local authorities, host communities, and forcibly displaced and returnee populations

In response to the increasing influx of refugees and returnees from Sudan due to the ongoing conflict, UNHCR, IOM and the Government of South Sudan established joint border monitoring and strengthened data collection. This initiative provides real-time information on the number, conditions, and immediate protection needs of returnees, supporting partners' response efforts.

Returnee monitoring enables the systematic collection of data on protection concerns and returnees’ perceptions of conditions in areas of return—including safety, security, access to basic services, infrastructure, and livelihoods. Additionally, analyzing trends in onward and pendular movements helps assess the sustainability of returns and the effectiveness of reintegration support.

This collaboration has led to the development of a joint dashboard offering live updates on inflows and returnee intentions. The data informs the identification of protection, rehabilitation, reintegration, and early recovery needs, guiding efforts to provide targeted assistance. Moreover, it is critical for shaping reintegration programming within national, regional, and local development frameworks.

UNHCR, with support from EU INTPA, has been conducting a comprehensive service gap analysis in four key return areas of South Sudan—Aweil, Torit/Magwi, Raja, and Yei/Morobo—assessing both local and displaced populations' needs. These Community-Based Assessments (CBAs) evaluate infrastructure capacity, service quality, and the potential for scaling up to identify gaps between existing services and current needs.  Developed in collaboration with Samuel Hall, the CBA methodology integrates site visits and mixed-methods data collection to build an indicator framework that examines service availability, quality, and absorption capacity.

The CBAs employ a multi-sectoral approach, analyzing key dimensions such as conflict and protection, infrastructure capacity, livelihoods, education, health, and integration. Data was gathered through key informant interviews, community surveys, focus group discussions, GIS analysis, and fieldwork, allowing for a detailed assessment of service provision.  The assessment found that in Aweil, a key host for Sudanese and South Sudanese fleeing conflict in Sudan, healthcare is already stretched to maximum capacity; however, restructuring three (out of nine) substandard facilities would improve cost-effectiveness and strengthen the system’s ability to meet increased demand from returning refugees. The findings aim to inform evidence-based programming and encourage coordinated development efforts among national and local governments, international agencies, and humanitarian actors, enhancing strategic planning and resource allocation, ensuring more effective, inclusive, and coordinated responses to the challenges faced by returnee and host communities.

While the needs are immense and span the whole country, priority interventions are recommended in areas hit hardest by the impact of the Sudan conflict, including Renk, Aweil, Malakal and JamJang. All of these locations are characterized by a high level of poverty and food insecurity and wide gaps in infrastructure and public services, alongside deep institutional deficits. These investments are critical as the ongoing Sudan crisis has the potential to rapidly destabilize the entire northern region of South Sudan, leaving millions of people at risk of further displacement and violence.