Coronavirus - South Sudan: Regional Refugee Response Plan

2020 RESPONSE IN NUMBERS

2.25 M South Sudanese Refugees as of 30 June 2020

USD 268.3M Funding received by sept 2020, representing 20% of requirements

20,381 new South Sudanese Refugee arrivals in 2020

95 UN, International NGO and National NGO Partners involved

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REGIONAL SITUATION OVERVIEW

The South Sudanese refugee response entered its seventh year in 2020. While there were some advances in the peace process, continued pockets of violence led to new arrivals of refugees in the neighboring countries. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda continued to host over 2.2 million South Sudanese refugees as of 30 June 2020 – the largest refugee population in the region. South Sudanese refugees continued to receive refugee status on a prima facie status. The 2020-2021 South Sudan Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRRP) brings together 96 partners requesting USD 1.3 billion to meet the life-saving and resilience needs of South Sudanese refugees in the region. By June 2020, agencies had received USD 107.6 million, representing only 8 per cent of requirements (compared to 21 percent funding received by June 2019).

Refugees are hosted in camps, settlements and urban areas and are living in extremely precarious conditions, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most refugees face high levels of poverty, limited access to livelihood opportunities, and are located in some of the poorest regions of host countries, where communities are already struggling to meet basic needs.

Between January and June 2020, some 1.63 million South Sudanese refugees received food assistance. Approximately 296,214 students were reached with distance learning programmes during to school closures, including 228,189 in Uganda; 38,155 in Ethiopia; 25,614 in Kenya and 4,256 in Sudan, amounting to 34% of South Sudanese refugee children. An additional 24,372 handwashing facilities were established and RRRP partners supported or established 134 health facilities for COVID-19 preparedness and response. However, significant underfunding and reprioritization to address the pandemic resulted in a substantial drop in livelihoods assistance, with the majority of South Sudanese refugee families remaining heavily dependent on humanitarian assistance. Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) prevention and response and child protection activities remained critically hampered by staff shortages and further stretched in response to lockdowns and other restrictions.

All five countries of asylum continued to advance the application of the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) and the Global Compact on Refugees, with efforts to further integrate refugees into national and local development plans, as well as national health and education systems.

All five countries of asylum continued to advance the application of the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) and the Global Compact on Refugees, with efforts to further integrate refugees into national and local development plans, as well as national health and education systems.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).