1. Executive Summary
Meeting emergency needs in the first year of statehood
2011 brought historic changes for the people of South Sudan. On 9 January, the country held its long-awaited referendum on independence, with the people voting overwhelmingly to secede from Sudan. The Republic of South Sudan was born on 9 July, becoming the world’s 193rd country and marking the conclusion of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) period that ended Sudan’s protracted civil war.
Political tensions between South Sudan and Sudan have persisted in the post-independence period. South Sudan seceded with major CPA issues unresolved, including border demarcation, wealth-sharing, and the fate of the disputed territory of Abyei. North-south tensions have flared with fighting erupting in Abyei and Sudan’s Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states. Inside South Sudan, the government has taken important steps to accelerate the process of state-building. However, the effects of decades of civil war have continued to impede the pace of development, and government capacity to deliver basic services remains low.
South Sudan faced a number of pressing humanitarian challenges over the past year. Violence increased on several fronts, leading to the displacement of approximately 350,000 people from their homes. South Sudanese continued to return from Sudan in record numbers, requiring significant emergency support. Rising food insecurity, disease outbreaks and seasonal flooding continued to impact humanitarian conditions on the ground. An already difficult operating environment was compounded by the re-mining of road networks in conflict zones and continued interference in aid operations by military and other actors.
Relief partners together with the Government of South Sudan have identified several complex threats likely to shape humanitarian conditions over 2012. Insecurity has remained the biggest factor affecting the humanitarian situation, with conflict dynamics over coming months expected to generate continued displacement and to put civilians at risk. Responding to emergency needs among returnees will remain a key priority, as people continue to return to locations with virtually no social services or economic opportunities. The food security situation has become a serious concern as 2011 ends, with several factors contributing to 2012’s anticipated food deficit. Health and nutrition partners report that the food security situation has already driven a rise in malnutrition in parts of South Sudan.
The 2012 Consolidated Appeal for South Sudan seeks US$[1]763 million to address these urgent humanitarian needs. The appeal covers requirements across nine emergency clusters, spanning emergency education, emergency telecommunications, food security and livelihoods, health, logistics, non-food items and emergency shelter, nutrition, protection, and water, sanitation and hygiene. It also covers inter-cluster emergency support to vulnerable returnees and overarching support to the humanitarian operation provided by coordination and common services. The humanitarian community in South Sudan expresses its gratitude to all donors for their support in 2011, when projects in the Sudan Work Plan relating to Southern Sudan received $327 million by mid-November, which is 53% of the total requirements.
[1] All dollar signs in this document denote United States dollars. Funding for this plan should be reported to the Financial Tracking Service (FTS, ), which will display its requirements and funding on the current appeals page.