South Sudan

South Sudan has been embroiled in civil war for much of its history, before and since its independence from Sudan in 2011.  In December 2013, a political crisis sparked fighting in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, which quickly spread to other parts of the country.  According to research published by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 2018, an estimated 383,000 South Sudanese have died as a result of the war.  Some 3.7 million remain displaced—nearly a third of the population—1.5 million internally and 2.2 million as refugees in neighboring countries. 

An estimated 7.2 million people (more than 60 percent of the population) need humanitarian assistance, 4.5 million urgently need food assistance, and 1.3 million children are acutely malnourished, the highest number recorded since independence.  Atrocities and widespread attacks on civilians, including rampant sexual violence, have defined the conflict.  South Sudanese have been deeply affected by exposure to traumatic events and economic devastation. 

In September 2018, the government and other parties to the conflict signed a revitalized peace agreement, updating one signed in 2015 that failed to bring peace.  Implementation has been slow, with two delays in forming a transitional government, the most recent in November 2019.

USAID has increased humanitarian assistance and support for fundamental human needs, including access to water, health, and education services, is helping to address and reduce risks of gender-based violence, helping to rebuild livelihoods, and supporting civil society and independent media to ensure that diverse voices are heard. 

USAID has worked in South Sudan for decades, providing lifesaving humanitarian assistance, conflict mitigation assistance, essential services such as health care and education, and support for key milestones of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which culminated in South Sudan’s independence.