Two years on, South Sudan still faces major challenges
NAIROBI, 9 July 2013 (IRIN) - South Sudan marks two years of independence
today, but the millions who continue to face displacement, hunger, disease
and extreme poverty will be hard pressed to find any reason to celebrate.
Aid agencies say they require
<
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45236#.Udv2R_lql0Y> US$485
million from June until the end of 2013 to help some three million people
“to survive and to rebuild their lives”. IRIN has put together a list of
some of the country’s most serious humanitarian issues:
Conflict: Over the past two years,
<
http://www.irinnews.org/report/96285/south-sudan-disarmament-and-rebellion-
in-jonglei> inter-communal violence has destabilized Jonglei State, causing
displacement. Battles between rebels led by David Yau Yau and the national
Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) have also increased insecurity in the
same state. In May,
<
http://www.irinnews.org/report/98242/lack-of-access-rains-hinder-aid-to-jon
glei-idps> more than 100,000 people fled Jonglei’s Pibor County following
clashes between the rebels and the SPLA.
Tension remains high in the disputed
<
http://www.irinnews.org/report/97191/sudan-south-sudan-fear-keeps-abyei-res
idents-from-returning-home> Abyei region, with tens of thousands still
displaced by fighting in May 2011.
Access to conflict-affected populations remains a major challenge. Most
recently, international medical charity
<
http://www.msf.org/article/south-sudan-20000-people-neglected-after-fleeing
-disputed-border-region> Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported on 8 July
that some 20,000 people have been cut off from aid in Northern Bahr el
Ghazal State after they fled violence in the disputed border area between
Sudan and South Sudan.
Aid agencies also report being
<
http://www.irinnews.org/report/98242/lack-of-access-rains-hinder-aid-to-jon
glei-idps> prevented by the government from accessing populations in need in
Jonglei.
The integration into the SPLA of parts of some rebel movements - including
Yau Yau’s and Peter Gadet’s South Sudan Liberation Army (SSLA) - saw a
decline in militia activity in 2011 and 2012.
<
http://www.smallarmssurveysudan.org/facts-figures/south-sudan/armed-groups/
southern-dissident-militias.html> Analysts say an amnesty issued to six
militia leaders by President Salva Kiir in April could see further declines
in militia-related violence, but for the moment, Yau Yau’s militia remains
active, although elders in the region say peace talks are imminent.
Overall, internal conflict has displaced some 354,670 people, according to
the <
http://www.unhcr.org/pages/4e43cb466.html> UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
Refugees: Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces - Sudan’s national army
- and the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in Sudan’s
South Kordofan and Blue Nile states has forced more than 220,000 people into
South Sudan’s Upper Nile and Unity states. Overcrowding, outbreaks of
disease, poor funding and flooding make caring for these
<
http://www.irinnews.org/report/96363/south-sudan-as-refugee-numbers-swell-d
isease-puts-pressure-on-relief-efforts> refugees problematic for aid
agencies. The ongoing rainy season - which blocks roads for months - will
make aid delivery even harder.
Returnees: Close to two million South Sudanese have returned home since the
signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, ahead of independence.
According to the
<
http://www.rescue.org/press-releases/two-years-after-independence-thousands
-returnees-still-haven%E2%80%99t-found-home-south-sudan> International
Rescue Committee (IRC), many have returned to find their land occupied; IRC
reports that “the legal framework and procedures for land allocation are
unclear and poorly understood”. Few have valid identification documents,
meaning they often miss out on vital services such as health and education
programmes.
An estimated 20,000 people remain
<
http://www.irinnews.org/report/97981/the-long-road-home-to-south-sudan>
stranded in Renk, Upper Nile State, awaiting transportation further south;
according to IRC, budget cuts affecting reintegration programmes have
worsened the problem.
Hunger: Conflict, high food prices, and large numbers of returnees and
internally displaced persons (IDPs) have led to a deterioration in the
country’s
<
http://www.irinnews.org/report/97957/conflict-and-returnees-strain-south-su
dan-food-security> food security. In the contested Abyei region, the mass
return of IDPs following increased security has led to food security
concerns, while the large number of returnees from Sudan has also put
pressure on available food stocks.
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO), an estimated 1.15
million people are expected to face food shortages during the ongoing rainy
season. In March, the
<
http://www.wfp.org/news/news-release/harvest-increases-food-insecurity-rema
ins-high-south-sudan> UN World Food Programme (WFP) estimated that some 4.1
million people would be food insecure in 2013.
Empty coffers: In January 2012, South Sudan halted
<
http://www.irinnews.org/report/94858/south-sudan-briefing-life-without-oil>
crude oil production, which accounts for almost all the country’s revenue,
following a row with Sudan over transit fees. The shutdown lasted until
April 2013, severely affecting the government’s ability to provide services,
pay civil servants and support
<
http://www.irinnews.org/report/97496/scant-help-for-south-sudan-s-disabled>
populations in need of humanitarian assistance. The
<
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324436104578578930057775940.h
tml> first shipment of oil in 18 months left eastern Sudan’s Port Sudan for
Asia on 30 June.
In June, Sudan threatened to shut down the oil pipeline running from South
Sudan in response to South Sudan’s alleged support for the SPLM-N; South
Sudan denies supporting the rebels.
Healthcare: South Sudan continues to have some of the world’s worst health
indicators. For instance, the country has the world’s worst reported
<
http://www.irinnews.org/report/95900/south-sudan-the-biggest-threat-to-a-wo
man-s-life> maternal mortality rate; fewer than 10 percent of women give
birth with the help of trained medical professionals. Curable diseases such
as malaria, measles, meningitis and respiratory infections kill thousands
annually, while some <
http://www.unicef.org/esaro/5440_12849.html> 200,000
children under age five are at risk of being malnourished. Over 30 percent
of the population has no access to safe water, and less than 15 percent has
access to <
http://www.unicef.org/southsudan/10935_11140.html> proper
latrines, raising the risk of waterborne diseases. The country is also
desperately short of trained health workers and health centres.
There has been some progress, however, with door-to-door
<
http://www.irinnews.org/report/97910/south-sudan-prioritizes-immunization-k
eeps-polio-at-bay> polio immunization campaigns vaccinating more than 94
percent of children under five; the country has been polio-free for four
years.
Human rights: The government has faced criticism over its poor human rights
record, with accusations of abuse levelled at the SPLA during a
<
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AFR65/005/2012/en/a60e1cf6-168b-4fa
2-a7ab-bd8167e964e7/afr650052012en.pdf> civilian disarmament exercise in
Jonglei in 2012.
<
http://www.irinnews.org/report/96713/south-sudan-calls-to-end-the-death-pen
alty-improve-prison-conditions> Poor prison conditions,
<
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2013/03/07/old-man-can-feed-us-you-will-marry-hi
m> widespread child and forced marriage,
<
http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/06/24/south-sudan-rough-justice-lakes-state>
arbitrary detention and
<
http://www.cpj.org/2013/05/press-must-be-able-to-work-freely-in-south-sudan
.php> deteriorating press freedom are some of the main human rights concerns
facing the country.
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Received on Tue Jul 09 2013 - 17:46:59 EDT