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Appeal
Republic of South Sudan
Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery / Reintegration in the new Republic of South Sudan (RoSS) – SDN112 Revision1
Appeal Target: US$ 2,382,483
Pledges and Income: US$ 1,883,247
Balance Requested: US$ 499,236
The South Sudan appeal SDN112 has been revised and extended to June 2012. The new appeal duration is 1st of August 2011 to 30th June 2012. The revision and extension was necessitated by the following reasons: 1) Most of the funds for the SDN112 appeal were received late and implementation of activities started between Nov 2011 and January 2012 (4 months late). Due to this delay ACT members and their partners have not been able to meet their plans on time. More time is therefore needed to finalise the implementation of key activities. 2) The need to rationalise budgets to reflect the funds received and expected (SCC, NCA, DCA) and to upscale activities in areas with increased need (LWF).
All changes in the document are highlighted in colour- blue on the narrative and yellow on the budgets.
South Sudan became the world's newest nation on the 9th of July 2011, the final step in the six-year Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), a deal which ended 2 decades of civil war in Sudan. There was jubilation, euphoric celebrations and tears of joy as the people of South Sudan from all walks of life descended in the capital Juba to witness the raising of the flag of the Republic of South Sudan with hope for a new dawn. It is the newest country in the world and the 54th state in Africa. The situation in South Sudan remains fragile and unpredictable. Insecurity is still prevalent; uncertainty in the political environment, infrastructure weak and social services almost nonexistent.
Whilst the state is established and has already received widespread recognition, the building of the new nation will require more than the optimistic words of the national anthem. Key negotiations between the North and South on citizenship, border demarcation, wealth sharing and debt sharing remain inconclusive and could plunge the two nations into yet another war. Border conflict has already forced 115,000 people to flee Abyei following the northern occupation of the contested region in May. Bombings continue in the northern oil state of South Kordofan, where those in opposition to the present Khartoum regime complain that the l elections in the state were rigged. In both conflicts, accusations of serious crimes have been levelled against the military operations for deliberate targeting of civilians. Tensions in Blue Nile State remain high; a single incident can easily trigger large scale fighting. Sudan watchers foresee that, a significant number of people could migrate to South Sudan given their historical connection with the SPLM/A, should the violence deteriorate or persist in these flashpoint areas.
Violence between SPLA and rebel factions have proliferated since the referendum with four armed groups currently battling the SPLA across five states namely Jonglei, Warrap, Unity, Upper Nile and Northern Bahr El Ghazal. The government of South Sudan blames Khartoum for supporting some of these rebellions with arms, a charge the Khartoum government denies. In addition, tribal tensions, cattle raiding and attendant revenge violence continue to cause death, especially to civilians and disrupting whole communities. According to UN-OCHA, more than 2,300 people have died in violence across the South in 2011 alone. Farming, which is the lifeblood of families in South Sudan, has therefore been affected. This is compounded by the below-normal rains that have been received by July. In total, at least 277,000 people have been displaced in South Sudan as a result of the various conflicts.
South Sudan remains one of the poorest countries on earth with some of the worst health and development indicators in the world. While it is already struggling with its existing population, more people continue to flood in. UN-OCHA reports that at least 307,000 people have returned from the North since October 2010, and up to 800,000 are also expected as the issues of citizenship for Southerners in the North remain unresolved with threatening rhetoric from the northern government. Many of the returnees have to start rebuilding their lives and rediscover their former livelihoods or find alternatives. These large scale returns exert additional pressure on the already limited resources and could potentially result in conflict between the returnees and host communities.
ACT Alliance members in South Sudan have been a source of relief to people affected by the violence and political turmoil. With this proposed appeal, ACT members will intensify their work by building upon the results of the preparedness appeal, SDN102 that was implemented from October 2010 to July 2011.
Major achievements of the previous preparedness appeal, SDN102 include:
- At least 4800 NFIs sets were prepositioned in the 10 states as well as the transitional areas of Abyei and Southern Kordofan.
- Out of these, 2945 kits have already been distributed to returnees and IDPs fleeing violence. The balance will remain prepositioned in this new appeal and could be used for any emergency response.
- Emergency preparedness and response trainings and capacity building was provided to 197 people including staff members of partner organisations, other humanitarian actors and local government officials.
- Capital assets and communication equipment was also provide to implementing partners.
- The ACT Alliance also accessed 2,000 NFIs from the CARITAS family that were distributed through local implementing partners.
- NCA and LWF have also distributed NFIs provided by IOM to returnees and IDPs in their states since January 2011.
This appeal SDN112 revision 1 has a revised target of $2,382,483, and will continue the good work of the Alliance in South Sudan by broadening its reach and scope and at the same time strengthening disaster preparedness among partners.
The overall goal SDN112 is ‘to relieve human suffering and mitigate the effects of armed conflict, natural disasters, displacement (IDPs), returnee and/or host communities in the Republic of South Sudan and in so doing increase the preparedness capacity of ACT members and their national partner agencies to respond to future emergencies’.
The appeal activities will:
- Build upon the success of the previous appeal by strengthening existing emergency preparedness capacity;
- Capacitate the members to respond to current emergencies and rapidly respond to future emergencies and;
- Seek to support the recovery of returnees through activities that support their livelihoods prospects and re-integration into their communities.
Summary achievements of SDN112 by February 2012:
ACT members in South Sudan have helped the targeted population to meet their critical humanitarian needs, such as, child mortality and water related diseases. The intervention was appropriate to the crisis situation. Involvement of the local government authorities, CBOs and local partners in emergency response has increased local capacities. It is expected that through the skills and experience gained, the partners and LGAs will be able to intervene and manage future humanitarian emergencies in their respective areas.
- At least 14,500 people, displaced by the violence, received essential Non Food Items in Jonglei and Warrap States.
- 1,000 IDP Households received, 1,000 NFIs kits, 2,000 fishing nets, 2,000 hooks (Medium and small sizes) and 1,800 Tins of onions, okra and tomatoes seeds.
- A stakeholder’s workshop was conducted in Warrap State aimed at encouraging participation in the project. The workshop also facilitated a participatory selection of 12 hygiene promoters. All heads of departments including County RRC Secretary, County Commissioner and all the traditional chiefs and influential community leaders and the local CBOs participated in the meeting.
- Drilling of boreholes is in progress in Warrap and Jonglei states with a target of 19 functional boreholes by end of the project period. The boreholes will be monitored to ensure they are producing safe drinking water.
- Hygiene awareness sessions have been conducted to reduce the likelihood disease outbreaks.
- Shelter materials were provided to IDPs in Joung, Warrap State. They were also provided with tools to build own Tukuls (traditional pole, mud and thatch houses).
- Improved coordination: ACT South Sudan Forum meetings, State Lead Partners Meetings, Security Working Group Meetings and other coordination meetings within the ACT Family were held to increase information sharing, coordination and collaboration between partners. Partners also attended UN lead cluster meetings.
The requesting members for this Appeal are: DanChurchAid (DCA), Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Interchurch Organization for Development Co-operation and Kerk in Actie (ICCO), Sudan Council of Churches (SCC/ERRADA).
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