Highlights
On 5 February, UNICEF declared the emergency in South Sudan a ‘Level 3 Corporate Emergency’ mobilizing organization-wide support to the current crisis. Simplified Standard Operating Procedures are now in place and additional corporate resources are being mobilised to address this critical situation. In the last week, additional internal emergency funding of USD 5 million has been released and an Immediate Response Team is being deployed to support the scale up of the response.
With the cessation of hostilities agreement holding in most parts of the country, the number of displaced persons stabilized over the last week. It is estimated that 738,000 people are displaced inside South Sudan and a further 130,400 have sought refuge in neighbouring countries. With the security situation improving in key towns, and increasing access in some areas, UNICEF teams in Bentiu, Malakal, Minkaman and Bor continue to scale up the response in Child Protection, WASH, Health and Nutrition.
Review of surveillance data shows an increase in measles cases, due to overcrowding, malnutrition and the low level of measles immunization coverage before the crisis. UNICEF and partners are redoubling efforts to scale up integrated immunization campaigns and access unreached populations. To date, 118,542 children between 6 month and 15 years of age have been immunized against measles.