UNICEF SOUTH SUDAN SITUATION REPORT SEPTEMBER 2019 13 year-old Claudio Justin has drawn some of the tools he will need as an engineer. He used to watch his brother in his workshop. His brother has passed away, and Claudio wants South to pick up his legacy. Photo: UNICEF/Gonzalez Farran Sudan Humanitarian Situation Report SEPTEMBER 2019: SOUTH SUDAN SITREP #136 SITUATION IN NUMBERS Highlights • On 17 September, 21 children associated with armed forces and armed 1.47 million Internally displaced persons (IDPs) groups (CAAFAG), all boys, were released in Aweil East. (OCHA South Sudan Humanitarian Snapshot, • UNICEF supported the government in organising International Day of September 2019) Girl Child under the theme "educate a girl to change a nation" in Malakal, Rumbek and Yambio in the last week of September to create demand for girls’ education in the country. 2.24 million South Sudanese refugees in • On 26 September, A Facilitator’s Manual for Psychosocial Support (PSS) neighbouring countries in Child Friendly Spaces, Schools and Communities and trainers guides and (UNHCR Regional Portal, South Sudan Situation a Practical Guide for the Socio-Economic Reintegration of Girls Formerly 30 September 2019) Associated with Armed Forces and Groups were officially launched by UNICEF. 6.35 million South Sudanese facing acute food UNICEF’s Response with Partners in 2019 insecurity or worse (August 2019 Projection, Integrated Food Security Phase Classification) Cluster for 2019 UNICEF and partners for 2019 Indicators Target Cumulative Cumulative Target Target achieved results (#) results (#) (%) Funding Status Nutrition: # of children aged 6 to 59 months 220,700 186,379 220,700 186,379 84.4% admitted for SAM treatment Health: # of children 6 Carry-over months-15 years in Funds received: 475,000 436,356 91.9% from 2018: humanitarian situations US$ 55,830,673 vaccinated for measles US$ 26,142,536 WASH: # people accessing the agreed quantity of 3,000,000 1,549,843 800,000 463,439 57.9% water for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene Child Protection: # of 2019 Funding children reached with 476,750 254,971 275,000 189,331 68.8% Requirement psychosocial support services US$ 179.2 M Education: # of children accessing quality formal or non-formal early learning, 786,324 705,212 729,000 611,617 83.9% pre-primary, primary or secondary education Funding gap: US$ 97,257,292 1 UNICEF SOUTH SUDAN SITUATION REPORT SEPTEMBER 2019 Situation Overview and Humanitarian Needs Ongoing clashes between the South Sudanese People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and the National Salvation Front (NAS – a non-signatory to R-ARCSS) continue to impede UNICEF and partners programme activities in southern Central Equatoria. This month, intense fighting occurred along the Yei-Maridi road and in Lainya county. In Lainya, these clashes resulted in the suspension of UNICEF supported nutrition outreach activities in Bereka targeting 1,000 children and prevented an additional programme visit to the area. In Yei county, a supervisor for the UNICEF supported PHCC in Lasu was killed, leading to the temporary closure of the facility. The fighting also prevented a planned monitoring visit of UNICEF WASH activities in the area. In the short to medium term, access conditions will largely depend on further implementation of R-ARCSS. If a stable transitional government can be formed in November and the issues of a unified armed force and the number and boundaries of states are resolved, the resulting positive security and political climate will further improve the delivery of services to children. However, this will also give rise to larger IDP and refugee returns and potentially disputes over land and resources, straining service delivery and undermining security. Bureaucratic and operational constraints will also likely continue due a weak economy, the infrequent payment of government salaries and the lack of financial transparency. Yet uncertainty remains regarding the peace process. The unification of forces has stalled due to the lack of services and resources for the cantonment and training of forces, and there is disagreement over both when and how to resolve the boundaries issue. Even if a transitional government is formed, the failure to conclude these other key provisions increases the likelihood of renewed localized hostilities – particularly in parts of Upper Nile, Western Bahr el Ghazal and in the Equatorias. This, in turn, would cause increased displacement and humanitarian needs while also hindering access. This potentiality is exacerbated by the presence of non-signatory groups – now aligned under the South Sudan Opposition Movement – who are likely to provoke further clashes and/or create incentives for discontent minority groups and commanders to defect to their ranks. Floods are a chronic and acute problem in South Sudan exacerbating needs in areas where populations are affected by multiple concurrent shocks. Seasonal flooding during rainy season in South Sudan is a fact of life for many communities, and “normal” flooding is dealt with through coping mechanisms. Since July, South Sudan has experienced unusually heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding. The seasonal forecast of the National Meteorological Department predicted above normal rainfall from the third quarter of 2019. Elevated rains beginning in the third quarter brought increased malaria cases, incidents of drowning, disruption of basic services and infrastructure damage. Seasonal flooding experienced since June 2019 is much more significant than normal due to the effects of climate change, a stronger than usual positive phase of the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) has emerged with a greater- than-average rise of sea-surface temperatures in the western part of the Indian Ocean, off the east African coast, resulting in greater evaporation and increased precipitation inland throughout eastern Africa. The IOD’s current positive phase it as its strongest since 2006. According to the August 2019 Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis conducted, an estimated 4.54 million people (39 per cent of the population) are likely to face Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or worse acute food insecurity in September – December 2019. The prevalence of global acute malnutrition (GAM) has increased significantly from 13.3 per cent in 2018 to 16.2 per cent in 2019 which is above the 15 per cent emergency threshold. According to the IPC acute malnutrition (AMN) projection analysis, seasonal improvement of the nutritional situation is expected during the harvest and post-harvest period due to availability of food stock at household, reduced morbidities of childhood illness as well as marginal improvement in infant and young child feeding practices. However, due to high prevalence of acute malnutrition experienced at the peak lean season, improvement will be marginal. A total of 1.3 million children are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition in 2020 including close to 292,000 children with SAM. Humanitarian Leadership and Coordination UNICEF is co-leading three Clusters and one Area of Responsibility (AoR) out of a total of 10 clusters and three AoRs currently active in the country. UNICEF co-leads at national level both the Child Protection AoR and the Education Cluster with Save the Children, the Nutrition Cluster with Concern, Action Against Hunger (ACF) and the World Food Program (WFP) and the WASH Cluster with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). Memorandums of Understanding 2 UNICEF SOUTH SUDAN SITUATION REPORT SEPTEMBER 2019 have been signed between UNICEF and each co-lead agency at country level to guide effective and efficient coordination and ensure clear roles and responsibilities of each party. UNICEF co-led clusters and AoR are all part of the Inter-Cluster Working Group (ICWG) led by OCHA at the national and sub-national levels. UNICEF participates in the in-country interagency PSEA Task Force, which functions under the auspices of the Deputy SRSG/ Resident Coordinator (RC) / Humanitarian Coordinator (HC), and plays an active role to advocate for better protection of children against SEA. Humanitarian Strategy In 2019, in line with UNICEF’s Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) and the inter-agency Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), UNICEF continues to strengthen and expand its programmes. UNICEF provides life-saving humanitarian assistance through a timely and effective integrated package of nutrition, health, WASH, child protection and education services delivered through interconnected, complementary responses. To ensure that support has a wide reach, services are delivered through static operations, direct outreach and rapid response modalities. UNICEF’s operations are led by its 13 field offices to enable wide coverage and quality programming across the country. UNICEF’s leadership of the nutrition and WASH clusters and child protection area of responsibility and its co-leadership of the education cluster enable strategic planning, coordinated response, capacity building of partners and advocacy both at the national and state levels. Local partners make up approximately 51 per cent of UNICEF’s partnerships in South Sudan and UNICEF is investing in increasing the localization of aid in South Sudan through capacity building and targeted resource allocation. Following the signing of the R-ARCSS in September 2018, UNICEF is investing in building the capacities of central and sub-national state authorities. In 2019, the integrated rapid response mechanism (IRRM) is prioritizing hard-to-reach communities with