Crisis Impacts on Households in Unity State, South Sudan, 2014-2015
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CRISIS IMPACTS ON HOUSEHOLDS IN UNITY STATE, SOUTH SUDAN, 2014-2015 INITIAL RESULTS OF A SURVEY Office of the Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan January 2016 Crisis Impacts on Households in Unity State Table of Contents Summary .......................................................................................................................................................... 5 Summary of Recommendations ...................................................................................................................... 7 Context ............................................................................................................................................................ 8 Methodology ................................................................................................................................................. 12 The Sampling Approach ............................................................................................................................. 13 Limitations of the Survey ........................................................................................................................... 13 Survey Findings .............................................................................................................................................. 15 The Households ......................................................................................................................................... 15 Dislocation ................................................................................................................................................. 16 Protection of Civilian Sites ..................................................................................................................... 17 The Bentiu POC ...................................................................................................................................... 18 Deaths and Other Losses ........................................................................................................................... 19 Gendered Mortality ............................................................................................................................... 20 Calculating Crude Death Rates .............................................................................................................. 21 Mortality ................................................................................................................................................ 21 Summarizing the Crisis Impacts ................................................................................................................. 23 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................................... 25 More Analysis Needed ............................................................................................................................... 26 Summary of Recommendations .................................................................................................................... 27 Annex 1. Survey Instrument .......................................................................................................................... 29 Annex 2. IPC Update, October 2015 .............................................................................................................. 30 2 Crisis Impacts on Households in Unity State Table of Figures Figure 1. Shocks in Unity State and PoC Population ............................................................................. 10 Figure 2. Reconstituting Goat Skins with Bones ................................................................................... 10 Figure 3. Nutrition Situation Map, September 2015 ............................................................................ 11 Figure 4. Survey Underway in the Swamps ........................................................................................... 13 Figure 5. List of Possible Shocks to Households .................................................................................... 15 Figure 6. HH Experiences with Dislocation, 2,150 HH ........................................................................... 16 Figure 7. Number of Shocks per HH and Use of POC, 2,150 HHs .......................................................... 18 Figure 8. Causes of Reduction in HH Size, Arrivals to Bentiu POC, 499 HH .......................................... 18 Figure 9. Age and Sex of HH Members, 2014 to 2015, Bentiu POC, 499 HH ........................................ 19 Figure 10. Persons Abducted, Separated and Unknown, by Gender and Age, 2,150 HH ..................... 20 Figure 11. Distribution of Mortality by Gender, 2,150 HHs .................................................................. 20 Figure 12. Distribution of Mortality by Age, 2,150 HHs ........................................................................ 21 Figure 13. Estimated Mortality by Cause .............................................................................................. 22 Figure 14. Crude Death Rates, 2,150 HHs ............................................................................................. 22 Figure 15. Summary of Crisis Impacts on 24 Communities in Unity State ............................................ 23 Figure 16. Rank Order of Crisis Impact on Males, Females and Children Aged Five Years and Younger, 2,150 HHs .............................................................................................................................................. 24 Figure 17. Comparison of actual and expected gender and age distribution of those sent and those arriving to the Bentiu POC .................................................................................................................... 25 Acronyms ARCRSS Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic Of South Sudan A/CDR Adjusted Crude Death Rate CDR Crude Death Rate DHC Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator FAO Food and Agriculture Organization GAM Global Acute Malnutrition HH Household IASC Inter-Agency Standing Committee IDP Internally Displaced Person IPC Integrated Food Security Phase Classification MT Metric Ton NFI Non Food Item OCHA Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs POC United Nations Protection of Civilian Site SAM Severe Acute Malnutrition SPLA Sudan People’s Liberation Army SPLA-IO Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition UN United Nations UNMISS United Nations Mission in South Sudan WASH Water, Sanitation and Hygiene WFP World Food Programme 3 Crisis Impacts on Households in Unity State 4 Crisis Impacts on Households in Unity State Summary Analysis of the impacts of crises is important for ensuring that humanitarian action is principled, targeted and effective, and that protection is afforded based on specific vulnerabilities. Documenting the impact of war is also important for recovery processes, including accountability, reconciliation and healing. However, due to the combination of violent conflict and disruptions to humanitarian operations, there has been insufficient information about a range shocks on households (HHs) in some parts of South Sudan. To contribute to the growing body of evidence about the impacts of the crisis, in November and December 2015, a survey of 2,150 HHs explored the impacts of shocks in Unity State, South Sudan. The communities surveyed were located in villages, swamps, forests and floating islands in five counties, as well as the United Nations Protection of Civilian Site (POC) in Bentiu, Unity State. The survey was undertaken in both Government- and opposition-controlled areas. Many communities were remote and insecure. The most extreme sites required 24-hour journeys by canoe or walking to reach. The survey was undertaken when there was no access for humanitarian operations in many of the survey areas. As with any survey conducted in remote, difficult and high risk areas, compromises were made that could affect the both the reliability and validity of the findings. The limitations of the survey approach, including sources of possible bias, are noted in the methodology section of this report. The survey was managed by the Office of the Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan with support from partners.1 • The sustained combination of violence, population displacement, asset losses and restrictions on access by humanitarians and peacekeepers has had grave implications. At the end of the 2014 rainy season, the communities surveyed had an estimated total population of 263,864 (µ± 2,025). This approximates one-fourth of the population of Unity State. One year later, the populations had fallen sharply, to an estimated 207,041 (µ± 2,016). The roughly 26,200 households experienced an estimated total loss of 80,500 people while also absorbing an additional estimated 16,000 people that needed shelter: relatives, non-relatives and children separated from their families. These shocks were only partially offset by the normal life course of births (µ=9,030, µ± 219) and marriages (µ=1,804, µ± 96). • Eighty-six per cent of 2,150 HHs in the survey experienced at least one significant shock over the course of the year. HHs fragmented as a result of shocks as well as coping strategies intended to spread risk across multiple geographies. Over the course of the year, households became 20% smaller, with higher proportions of both children under five years old and