South Sudan: Government of Jonlei State – Condemnation of Recurrent Attacks on Jonglei State’s Citizens by Suspected Criminals from Greater Pibor Administrative Area (03.12.2021)

South Sudan: Kongor Dialogue Communique, Kongor, CPAA, 22-26 November 2021 (26.11.2021)

South Sudan: “We will return home when UNMISS and the government say we don’t need to be afraid anymore,” says displaced Tambura tradesperson (22.11.2021)

Mbiyo is one of the nearly 9,000 displaced people sheltering at the Temporary Operating Base set up by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan to restore some semblance of calm and stability.

TAMBURA, South Sudan, November 22, 2021 – Mbiyo Morgan is a tall man. In his early forties, he is a father, a husband, a farmer, a trader and a motorcycle mechanic. Like most others across South Sudan, Mbiyo wears many hats as he tries to put food on the table for his children.

His palms are darkened and rough, a testament to years of hard labour. But he was happy. At least till fighting erupted in Tambura, Western Equatoria, killing people and forcing tens of thousands to flee for their lives.

Today, Mbiyo is one of the nearly 9,000 displaced people sheltering at the Temporary Operating Base set up by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to restore some semblance of calm and stability here.

“We have suffered for the last three months because of the fighting, the killing,” he says as he inspects a mechanical fault on a customer’s motorcycle.

Mbiyo has been returning to operate his small workshop, following a relative de-escalation of tensions in the area. He says he craves for the day he will be return his home. A home that is only some two kilometres away.

“There is very little to go back to though,” he muses. Many of the houses in his area have either been burnt down or broken into. “Our household property, food, clothes, they’re all gone. We have forgotten these things. Whatever we have on our backs is all we own now,” he adds almost philosophically but the pain of loss is evident.

He feels the situation is becoming safer everyday safer but is disappointed that there has only been a solitary food distribution exercise since he began sheltering at the UNMISS temporary base, though humanitarian partners are doing their best to scale up assistance.

The urgency behind Mbiyo’s apparent equanimity is real: His family is running out of food. “I did plant crops in my farm this year and they are almost ready to be harvested but I am afraid to travel to my land. I have responsibilities and my family cannot afford to lose me. At least, with the mechanical work I’m doing I can feed them once a day. If I die, they will starve,” he states simply but emphatically.

Meanwhile in Mambulu, ten kilometres away on the road to Yambio, a sinewy 35-year-old man has braved his fears and is out spreading some sorghum and beans on the ground to dry. His compound is badly in need of clearing, with pumpkins sprouting here and there.

Juma does not mind this, nor does he mind the overgrown weeds and bushes encroaching upon his once clean compound. He has been here for the last four days with his wife and three children, none older than 10, specifically to collect some food from the garden to feed them.

“My family and I fled to the South Sudan Peoples Defense Forces garrison in town,” he revealed, reminiscing about the days immediately following armed attacks in the area. “We are safe but there is no food, and one needs money to buy anything. I am here to get some food from the garden and will have to go back to the garrison,” he adds. Risks are calculated in terms of life versus death, says Juma. He adds that he took the risk of trekking back to his garden with his children because his family is currently more likely to die from hunger.

“We may need to come back here as a group with some of my neighbours so we can stay longer, but for now, we will have to walk back with the children and with as much food as we can carry,” he says.

The fighting has stopped for now and a fragile peace has returned to Tambura. Markets and some shops are open, and the main road, which was deserted till a couple of weeks ago, is cautiously showing signs of life.

At his shelter in the UNMISS base, Mbiyo gently rocks his four-month-old son, checking the boy’s temperature with a tender touch to the forehead. His child was barely a month old when the family had to flee home. “We will go back home when UNMISS says we can leave and the government says it is safe to return,” he says as he peels his eyes from his baby and looks to the setting sun and the long shadows cast by the UNMISS armoured vehicles guarding the base.

In the meantime, the clock is ticking as the crops await harvest and farmers run the risk of losing all their food. But people like Mbiyo and Juma will have to constantly assess their situation and live a day at a time, carefully keeping alive the flame of hope for a better tomorrow for their children.

South Sudan: Jonglei State – Condemnation of Incident that Occurred in Bor Town of Jonglei State on November 19, 2021 (20.11.2021)

IGAD and FAO Call for Urgent Actions to Mitigate the Impacts of Drought Across the Horn of Africa (18.11.2021)

A joint statement by the IGAD Executive Secretary, Dr Workneh Gebeyehu and the FAO Subregional Coordinator for Eastern Africa, Dr Chimimba David Phiri.

NAIROBI, Kenya, November 18, 2021 – Vulnerable communities in the IGAD region continue to experience a complex mix of re-enforcing shocks and stresses that are eroding their resilience to food and nutrition insecurity. As of October 2021, 26 million people were already facing high levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 3+), according to the Food Security and Nutrition Working Group (FSNWG), which is co-chaired by the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Due to the threat of worsening drought conditions, food insecurity will likely rise during the first half of 2022 across the Horn of Africa. Urgent action is therefore required now to safeguard livelihoods, save lives, and prevent possible starvation in some areas.

Drought conditions are already affecting the arid and semi-arid lands of Kenya, southern and central Somalia, and Belg-receiving areas of southern and south-eastern Ethiopia as consecutive poor rainfall seasons have driven below-average crop production, rising cereal prices, poor rangeland conditions, reduced livestock production, and drought-related  animal deaths in many areas.

Moreover, as forecast by the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC), the start of the current October-December 2021 rainy season has been significantly delayed, with little to no rainfall observed to date in many areas, raising the probability of another poor season. Should this occur, agricultural and pastoral conditions will further deteriorate, causing households already struggling with the effects of multiple, concurrent hazards (climate variability, conflict, COVID-19, and desert locusts) to employ negative coping strategies and reduce their food consumption. This is a major source of concern as food insecurity in the region has historically increased sharply following consecutive poor rainfall seasons.

IGAD Member States continue to work in collaboration with development partners to anticipate and respond to various food security threats and build the resilience of vulnerable communities to recurrent threats and crises. During the desert locust upsurge, for example, the unparalleled support of resource partners and multi-agency coordination averted USD 1.3 billion worth of cereal losses, meeting the cereal requirements of 29.1 million people. Desert locust livelihood recovery support continues for more than 200 000 households.

IGAD and FAO share a long-standing history of successful partnership and collaboration in building the region’s resilience in several areas, including but not limited to: livelihood support to strengthen resilience against droughts; food security information and analysis; early warning and disaster risk management; implementation of cross border actions in close collaboration with the respective communities, local and national authorities; conflict prevention; natural resource management; market access and trade; and capacity building; institutional strengthening and coordination through the IGAD Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainability Initiative (IDDRSI).

Such resilience-building efforts have significantly improved the ability of households to withstand the impacts of shocks. However, the increased frequency of climatic hazards, combined with the effects of other stressors, is threatening these hard-won gains. It is, therefore, crucial to act now to protect these resilience gains and prevent more people from sliding into food insecurity and malnutrition.

To this end, we must support farmers and herders who are experiencing the impacts of poor harvests, depleted food and animal feedstock, and rising food and water prices. More specifically, IGAD and FAO call for a scale-up of contributions to existing and future Humanitarian Response Plans (HRPs) as the response remains grossly underfunded in the relevant countries. Through rapid, collaborative action by all actors, we can safeguard the lives and livelihoods of communities currently bearing the worsening effects of the drought, while at the same time, protecting households’ longer-term resilience.

South Sudan: Athian Ding Athian – Appreciation Letter to the President of the Republic of South Sudan H.E. Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit (14.11.2021)

South Sudan Doctors Union (SSDU): Call on MOH Leadership to Resolve Internal Differences and Focus on Responding to Dire Health Situation in the County (19.10.2021)

South Sudan: Gumna Shabab – Press Statement (15.10.2021)

South Sudan: South Sudan United Front/Army (SSUF/A) letter to President Salva Kiir Mayardit (14.10.2021)

South Sudan: National People’s Movement – Press Statement (09.10.2021)