South Sudan: Combating hunger together

Donate for South Sudan

The world's youngest state is sinking into crisis: 9.4 million people in South Sudan are currently in need of humanitarian assistance. Help has been providing aid in South Sudan since 2011 and supports the population in the fight against hunger. In addition, we are committed to improving access to clean water and health care.

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Table of contents

Schülerinnen bauen im Rahmen eines Schulprojekts im Südsudan ihr eigenes Gemüse an.

„Lately it's been getting harder and harder to feed my family. Especially my daughter Aluel has lost a lot of weight. Since Help set up the malnutrition treatment centre, many mothers and their children have been going there. In the past, it happened very often that babies did not survive the hunger period, but since Help's staff came to our village and sent us to the treatment centre in time, no child in my village has died of hunger.“ Donate now

What is the situation like in South Sudan?

A toddler is medically examined — During the health check, the infants' temperature, weight and upper arm circumference are measured.

Hunger and war: a young state suffers

On 9 July 2011, South Sudan declared its independence from the North. After decades of civil war, hope for peace and economic development sprouted. Unfortunately, any hope was dashed as early as December 2013. The power struggle between the supporters of President Salva Kiir and his deputy Riek Machar escalated. The young state was plunged into a brutal civil war that has claimed over 400,000 lives so far. Although a peace treaty was officially signed on 22 February 2020, the recurrent violence in the country shows how fragile this peace is.

Food supplies in particular have been precarious since the fighting began. 90 per cent of the population depend on agriculture. But for fear of attacks and violence, more than 4 million people in South Sudan are on the run, and the fields lie fallow. In addition, disasters such as floods regularly occur, destroying entire livelihoods.

Organisations like Help are also unable to provide sufficient food for the people in the combat zones. As long as the violence continues, ideal conditions are created for famine and further victims - every year anew. Currently, around 9.4 million people in South Sudan are dependent on aid.

How is Help providing support in South Sudan?

A man pumps water from a Help well — By building wells, we provide people with water and lay the foundation for the fight against hunger.

Water means life

Help's objective is to provide the population of South Sudan with long-term support and to contribute to the sustainable development of the country. We support refugees, displaced persons and the local population in the Lakes State region. One of our priorities is treating malnourished children and pregnant women in our health centres. Special nutritional supplements help the children and expectant mothers to recover.

In many regions, people also do not have access to clean drinking water and are at risk of diarrhoea, which can have devastating consequences. We are therefore building wells, emptying or securely closing full latrines and constructing new sanitary facilities where they are needed. Alongside these measures, we provide hygiene training courses and train pump mechanics. This way we ensure that people will be able to use and maintain the wells in the long term.

Donors and partners: AA (Auswärtiges Amt), Stiftung der deutschen Lions, UNICEF, WFP (World Food Programme), ZF hilft

Help provides clean water in South Sudan — After/Before: Thanks to Help, Anyer Bulen Dit has access to clean drinking water again.

Clean water at last

Anyer Bulen Dit is 45 years old. She fled from the war, leaving her home village, Bor. She found refuge in Mingkaman. But due to poor hygiene conditions, there was a high risk of diseases such as cholera breaking out. Help showed the people in Mingkaman how to use latrines correctly and how to empty and close them, and ran hygiene training courses. Preparing food correctly to protect it from contamination and bacteria is also crucial for people’s health. “We’ve learnt a lot thanks to Help. Now we have a better chance of stopping cholera from breaking out and spreading.”

Facts and Figures

Figures about South Sudan

In South Sudan, 9.4 million people are in need of humanitarian aid (12/2022)
4.5 million people from South Sudan are displaced, 2.2 million of them within the country (02/2023)
6.6 million people have no secure access to food (11/2022)
1.4 million children in South Sudan are acutely malnourished (11/2022)

Sources: UNOCHA, UNHCR, IPC

Facts about our Help in South Sudan

Through 153 drilled and 345 repaired wells and water distribution systems, 382,350 people have access to potable water.
Each repaired or newly drilled well has a management committee (3 women/2 men).
515 pump mechanics were trained and equipped with materials to maintain the built infrastructure.
13,147 school children benefited from new infrastructure at schools.
101,260 people were able to sustainably improve their food security thanks to Help.
39,330 acutely severely malnourished children were rescued by Help in 12 treatment centers.
36,943 lactating/pregnant mothers were treated in Help's centers.
2 dams help around 12,000 people to feed their livestock and irrigate their fields.
170 nutritionists were trained.
185,623 people received hygiene kits, half of them girls in puberty with special focus on menstrual hygiene and accompanying education.
112,328 people have access to sanitation facilities.
At least 301,736 people were sensitized about hygiene practices and infection routes.
Nearly 300 health care workers were trained.

(July 2021)