New UNHCR household survey unveils alarming suffering for refugees and hosts in South Sudan

GENEVA - A pilot socioeconomic survey carried out by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, warns that the ongoing conflict in Sudan is exacerbating the already severe humanitarian crisis in South Sudan for refugees and the communities hosting them.

The findings of UNHCR´s first-ever Forced Displacement Survey (FDS) conducted between April and December 2023 on some 3,100 households in South Sudan show that refugee and hosting communities face similar challenges that aggravate protection risks and limit self-reliance opportunities. Results show that those forced to flee to South Sudan often arrive in rural areas with limited basic services, high unemployment rates, lack of education opportunities, poor infrastructure and overcrowded shelters.

While realities vary among the host communities and refugees who participated in the survey living in the north and the south of the country, the results paint a worrying picture for all. Food insecurity remains the most prominent challenge, with about 74 per cent of both refugee and host community households surveyed experiencing hunger in the previous month. Over two-fifths of both groups saw their incomes from all sources fall relative to the previous year.

The current crisis in Sudan has driven large numbers of refugees and returnees into South Sudan, increasing the refugee population in areas already impacted by sporadic inter-communal violence and overstretched services. South Sudan´s economy has been further disrupted by the war in the neighbouring country, particularly resulting from the closure of the country´s main oil pipeline.

“Millions of South Sudanese live below the poverty line and the war in Sudan is taking a heavy toll on the country’s economy,” said Marie-Helene Verney, UNHCR Representative in South Sudan. “In this context, integrating refugees is particularly challenging, and it is crucial that we now link humanitarian assistance to stabilization and development programmes to the extent possible.”

In the coming weeks, unprecedented high-water levels in Lake Victoria and forecasts of above-average rainfall across the region threaten to exacerbate an already dire situation. Severe and persistent flooding over previous years has seriously damaged crops, agricultural land and farming infrastructure, impacting food production and livelihoods.

“South Sudan is home to an overwhelmingly young population. The world needs to invest in them, and give them the tools and opportunities to build a better future,“ Verney added. “Despite the challenges, the Government of South Sudan has opened its doors to provide safety to those fleeing war. But overstretched resources can easily translate into tensions. Substantive long-term investments are crucial to improving the wellbeing of refugees and the communities hosting them.”

South Sudan hosts over 460,000 refugees, mainly from Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia. Most refugees live in the North and have been in the country for over a decade. Since the war started in Sudan over a year ago, South Sudan is receiving an average of 1,600 people a day, including refugees from Sudan and South Sudanese returning to a country many of them had never lived in.

The new UNHCR FDS gathers comprehensive socioeconomic data on refugees and host communities that is comparable across populations and time. Including statistics on demography, legal status and basic needs such as water, shelter and health, the survey is the first of its kind delivering insights to improve programming and policies, bridging the gap between humanitarian and development spaces. The results will be used to better target assistance to where it is most needed within the country.

For more information, please contact:

• In Nairobi (regional), Faith Kasina, [email protected], +254 113 427 094
• In Juba, Gift Friday Noah, [email protected], +211 922 654 219
• In Geneva, Olga Sarrado, [email protected], +41 797 402 307

Note for editors:

The Forced Displacement Survey (FDS) is UNHCR’s new household survey that is designed to standardize, streamline, and produce high-quality and timely data on refugees and host communities. Aligned with international statistical standards, the FDS provides the evidence needed to plan development programmes for refugees and host communities. It is aligned with internationally recognized survey programmes to ensure it is comparable with data collected by other key survey programmes. Anonymized microdata of the FDS will be published in UNHCR’s Microdata Library.

Data is collected through face-to-face household interviews conducted with up to four household members aged 15 and above on socioeconomic and living conditions. In South Sudan, 3,078 households (refugees and host communities combined) were sampled, 2,086 of them in the North. The FDS does not include refugees who were displaced during the recent conflict in Sudan, which began in April 2023.

South Sudan is one of three countries where the FDS is being piloted with support from the World Bank-UNHCR Joint Data Center on Forced Displacement. FDS fieldwork is underway in Pakistan and Cameroon and planning is advanced in Zambia.

South Sudan has hosted refugees since its independence in 2011, despite facing multiple social challenges and internal conflicts. Most of these refugees come from Sudan, where people have been forced to flee due to protracted conflicts that escalated dramatically in April 2023. South Sudan also hosts refugees who have fled Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and more, amounting to over 460,000 refugees in the country by June 2024.

• FDS South Sudan webpage
• FDS South Sudan report
• FDS South Sudan microdata