In 2025, South Sudan faced its lowest level of international aid funding since gaining independence in 2011, leaving nearly six million people—almost half the population—experiencing acute hunger and lacking access to clean water and sanitation. Humanitarian programs have been forced to scale down just as the need for support has surged, with more than two million people displaced by internal conflict and flooding, and over a million fleeing violence in neighboring Sudan.
The country’s $1.7 billion emergency Humanitarian Need and Response Plan for 2025 is less than 41 percent funded, forcing aid agencies such as Oxfam to reduce operations dramatically. In Renk, a border town heavily affected by incoming refugees, Oxfam plans to scale down operations by 70 percent over the next month, with the possibility of full closure by February if additional funding is not secured. Shabnam Baloch, Oxfam’s South Sudan Country Director, described the situation as catastrophic, warning that millions are at risk just as their survival hangs in the balance.
Communities in Renk face severe health crises, with only one clean water tap for every 433 people at some transit centers, far below humanitarian standards. New cases of cholera, acute watery diarrhoea, and Hepatitis E continue to be reported, and 35 percent of hospitals or health clinics are either closed or severely disrupted. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report indicates that nearly 6 million people are facing acute hunger, including 1.3 million with very high malnutrition, and projects that the number of people in crisis could rise to 7.5 million by April 2026.
The severe reduction in humanitarian support is forcing families to adopt harmful coping mechanisms, particularly endangering women and girls. Desperate households may resort to child marriage or send women and girls into unsafe areas to forage for resources, exposing them to sexual violence and exploitation. Returnees from Sudan, like Maria, report declining sanitation, limited water access, and fears that the situation could worsen as aid dwindles.
Oxfam urges international donors to urgently restore funding, emphasizing that the continued withdrawal of aid will deepen hunger, heighten disease risks, and leave millions of vulnerable South Sudanese without the essential support they need to survive.
