Introduction
The humanitarian situation in South Sudan is dire. Millions of people have suffered the consequences of conflict that has waged for decades and continues to bring devastation to large parts of the country. In addition to the struggle to build peace, South Sudan is frequently affected by disasters including severe flooding, drought, endemic diseases and conflict-driven food insecurity. Given the immense needs, the work of the South Sudan Red Cross is vitally important. Since 2011, the Canadian Red Cross has been actively working with the South Sudan Red Cross and other Red Cross Movement partners to mitigate the consequences of these disasters and reach more people in need.
Emergency Response
In response to recurring armed clashes, hundreds of thousands of men, women and children are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. Fearing for their lives, they’ve been forced to flee violence in many parts of the country. The Red Cross has an ongoing and long-term presence in the country supporting emergency responses for disease control, hunger, shelter and potable water. As humanitarian needs continue to intensify, the Red Cross is actively responding in affected regions and will continue to work with communities in need of assistance. The Canadian Red Cross contributes to this response by sending medical professionals and technical specialists to support medical interventions and to improve the emergency response capacity of the South Sudan Red Cross, as well as financial support to ensure the needs of those most affected are being met.
Women and Children’s Health in South Sudan
Since 2014, the South Sudan Red Cross, in partnership with the Canadian Red Cross and supported by Global Affairs Canada, is working to improve women and children’s survival in Gogrial, South Sudan. In close partnership with the national, state and county level health authorities, Red Cross partners are implementing a five-year integrated women and children’s health program in Gogrial West County. This program is delivering life-saving services to mothers and children through clinical outreach services, community-based health treatment, disease prevention and promotion of positive health practices, water and sanitation improvement, emergency preparedness and the promotion of positive gender norms.
Food security
From 2011 to 2015 and with support from the Government of Canada and local authorities in South Sudan, the South Sudan Red Cross and the Canadian Red Cross enhanced food security in Budi County. The project themes focussed on access, utilization, mitigation and preparedness, youth vocational skills development, youth leadership, food security coordination, and food security programming. Thanks to this project, 30,000 people have increased their capacity to address food security needs. Evaluations demonstrated that both project participants and community leaders found the project was successful, especially in relation to improving crop yields.
Capacity building
In 2014 the Canadian Red Cross launched a five-year initiative, the Capacity Strengthening for Emergency Response in Africa (SERA), to help strengthen the emergency response capacity of four Red Cross National Societies in Africa, including South Sudan Red Cross.
Given the complex and enduring emergencies in South Sudan, this initiative capitalizes on lessons learned during previous responses of the South Sudan Red Cross to emergencies to enhance their capacity to respond to the needs of people affected by disasters. This initiative is funded by Global Affairs Canada and has succeeded to date, despite a challenging operational context. This has been achieved by focusing on systemic, human resource and material investments while at the same time mainstreaming gender and diversity throughout all programming.