South Sudan Appeal

South Sudan is entering 2026 amid escalating humanitarian crises, with more than 70 per cent of its population – approximately 9.3 million people – requiring assistance, up from 67 per cent in 2025. The situation has deteriorated due to ongoing armed conflict, recurrent climate shocks and a deepening economic downturn. The ongoing crisis in the Sudan has further strained South Sudan, increasing the country's total population by an estimated 8.8 per cent through refugee inflows. This has overburdened already fragile health, education and social service systems.

Persistent insecurity continues to drive widespread displacement, particularly in Upper Nile, Jonglei, Central Equatoria and Western Equatoria states. Between January and September 2025, more than 321,000 people were newly displaced due to conflict. Humanitarian access also deteriorated during this period, with a total of 441 incidents reported – a 25 per cent increase compared with the same the period in 2024. This disrupted aid delivery across Upper Nile, Jonglei, Greater Equatoria and Unity states.

The health and WASH situation, interlinked, remains catastrophic. Poor water, sanitation and hygiene conditions exacerbate disease outbreaks, including cholera, measles, anthrax, circulating vaccine-derviced poliovirus type 2 (CVDPV2), hepatitis E and mpox, overwhelming the country's fragile health system. Cholera reached its worst level on record in 2025, with 95,450 cases and 1,587 deaths (case fatality rate: 1.7 per cent) in 55 counties as of 30 October 2025. Measles transmission remains a significant threat, with gaps in routine immunization and cross-border population movements heightening the risk of outbreaks. 

The acute malnutrition situation remains alarming, driven by disease outbreaks, limited health access and poor WASH conditions. Between July 2025 and June 2026, about 2.11 million children aged 6-59 months and 1.15 million pregnant and breastfeeding women are expected to be affected or at risk. Nearly 70 per cent of cases are in Jonglei, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile, Unity and Warrap states. Currently, 52 out of 80 counties face Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) acute malnutrition Phase 3 or worse, with further deterioration expected during the 2026 lean season.

Education and protection needs are equally acute. An estimated 2.81 million children, nearly 65 per cent of school-aged children, remain out of school, increasing vulnerability to recruitment by armed groups, sexual exploitation, child labour and other abuse. Gender-based violence is widespread, with more than 75 per cent of women aged 15-64 having experienced some form of violence. 

By the end of October 2025, floods had destroyed destroyed homes, farmland and infrastructure, affecting more than 1 million people in 29 counties in six states (primarily Jonglei and Unity). Humanitarian access remains severely constrained, with attacks on aid workers increasing compared with 2024, particularly in conflict-affected areas.

In 2026, UNICEF’s humanitarian strategy in South Sudan will align with the revised Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, prioritizing the most vulnerable populations – particularly those in hard-to-reach and conflict-affected areas. The approach integrates anticipatory action, strengthened preparedness and localization. It is guided by principles of gender equality, protection from sexual exploitation and abuse, accountability to affected populations and conflict sensitivity. 

UNICEF will expand the use of predictive modeling, early warning systems and anticipatory frameworks to act before shocks escalate. Strengthening multi-sector rapid response mechanisms will remain central to ensuring swift, life-saving interventions. Localization will advance through equitable partnerships with civil society – especially women-led organizations and national NGOs – and by reinforcing government capacity to enhance sustainability and community ownership.

Under the Humanitarian Reset, prioritization will be sharper and more disciplined. Multi-hazard and multi-sector risk analyses, informed by a contextualized risk index and area-based planning, will guide where UNICEF concentrates integrated programming, deploys pre-positioned supplies, or boosts rapid response capacity. UNICEF will systematically embed protection from sexual exploitation and abuse, accountability to affected populations, gender equality and conflict sensitivity across all interventions. This will underpin inclusive, protective and accountable programming. 

Sectoral strategies will strengthen integration and sustainability, bridging humanitarian and development approaches. In WASH, UNICEF will sustain leadership in emergency response while advancing durable, community-driven solutions through the humanitarian–development–peace nexus and behaviour change initiatives. The health programme will reinforce the primary health care approach, linking essential services to ensure continuity of care. Social and behaviour change interventions will enhance risk communication and community engagement for timely, actionable information. Nutrition programming will prioritize high-impact, life-saving services while progressively shifting towards government- and community-managed systems. Child protection will strengthen professionalization and localization through co-leadership with national NGOs and local authorities to strengthen coordination mechanims and response startegies. Gender-based violence prevention and response services will be supported by women-led groups. Education programming will safeguard access and strengthen gender equality in learning. Meanwhile, the social policy programme will pilot UNICEF’s first multi-purpose cash assistance initiative. This will reinforce national social protection systems and provide flexible, rapid support to crisis-affected families. 

UNICEF’s coordination role will remain a central pillar of the humanitarian architecture in South Sudan. As Cluster Lead for WASH and nutrition and co-lead for education, UNICEF will continue to drive effective coordination – harmonizing standards, supporting joint assessments and reinforcing government leadership for cohesive, accountable action. UNICEF will provide technical expertise to strengthen the newly consolidated Protection Cluster, ensuring integrated protection outcomes across all sectors.