South Sudan Humanitarian Fund Annual Report 2023

Donor contributions

In 2023, donors contributed $60 million to the South Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SSHF), a 19 per cent increase from $50.3 million received in 2022. The increase is a recovery from four years funding fluctuation.

While the recovery has not yet reached the 2019 levels, it suggests a potential for cautious optimism in 2024.
The number of donors to the SSHF has remained consistent compared to 2022, with variations in amounts contributed by each donor. Specifically, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom significantly increased their contributions by 124 per cent and 167 per cent, respectively. Conversely, Germany and Ireland decreased their donations by 36 per cent and 51 per cent, respectively.

Two donors (Germany and Switzerland) have each committed $1.1 million in multi-year contributions. The Fund received 71 per cent of the contributions in the first half of the year. However, the slow pace in the first quarter of the year (18 per cent) affected the Fund's ability to launch a robust and sizeable allocation in the first three months. To enhance predictability and aid resource mobilization efforts, SSHF will develop the 2024 allocation plan. The plan will provide the projected allocations time lines and the respective funding requirements for effective response support.

Humanitarian Context and Allocations

In 2023, South Sudan continued to face deteriorating humanitarian conditions due to the cumulative and compounding effects of multiple inter-connected crises: insecurity and conflict, the spillover effects of the crisis in Sudan, climate shocks such as flooding and localized drought-like conditions, and an economic crisis driven by currency depreciation and rising commodities prices.

The humanitarian landscape was characterized by floods early in the year, localized food insecurity, conflict within South Sudan, and the surging influx of returnees and refugees fleeing the conflict in Sudan.
Overall, the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance remained at 9 million, the same level reported in 2022.