March 19, 2022 (GENEVA)  – At least $1.2 billion is needed to help 2.3 million South Sudanese refugees and communities sheltering in five countries, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and 102 humanitarian and developmental agencies said.

The South Sudan refugee crisis is Africa’s largest and the response to it is one of the least-funded humanitarian operations. An estimated 2.3 million people have fled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, and Uganda.

Mathew Saltmarsh, the UN refugee spokesman said those countries are poor, suffer from many of the same problems as does South Sudan and can ill-afford to care for the masses of impoverished refugees.

“South Sudan continues to grapple with sporadic violence, chronic food insecurity and the devastating impact of major flooding. The COVID-19 pandemic has also strained people’s resources, asylum countries are facing similar challenges from the climate crisis and the pandemic but have continued to keep their doors open for refugees,” he said.

Saltmarsh said the host countries need support to provide food, shelter, and essential services, such as education and health care.

The UN says women and girls in South Sudan are subject to gender-based violence, rape and conflict-related sexual violence. Saltmarsh said the UNHCR and partners will scale up programs to prevent and respond to gender-based violence.

They will provide mental health and psycho-social support to victims of abuse, he noted.

“This follows a worrying rise in reports of depression over the last year, especially among refugees in Kenya and Uganda. It remains, of course, as you know a children’s crisis, with 2 out of 3 South Sudanese refugees being under the age of 18,” said the UN official.

“Funding is required for child protection including to ensure proper birth registration and family reunification,” he added.

A civil war that broke out in South Sudan in December 2013 killed over 400,000 people and displaced nearly 4 million into neighbouring countries.