Key messages
Humanitarian situation in South Sudan is grave ever since armed violence broke out in the capital Juba on 15 December 2013 and subsequently spread to several states in South Sudan. Over 800 000 people have been internally displaced and more than 250 000 have sought refuge in neighboring countries.
The dead and the wounded are estimated to be in the tens of thousands. There are 4.9 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.A substantial improvement in the security situation is needed to allow unimpeded humanitarian access to all affected people and unhindered deployment of aid workers as well as relief supplies throughout the country. On 23 January 2014, an agreement on the cessation of hostilities in South Sudan was signed in Addis Ababa, but frequent violations of the agreement by both sides are reported.
The main humanitarian needs are for food, clean water, healthcare, shelter, sanitation, hygiene and protection. Current humanitarian response capacity is insufficient and might decrease further since the rainy season has started earlier and makes access to many parts of the country even more difficult. The UN has declared South Sudan a "level 3" crises.
The hostilities have added to an already challenging humanitarian situation, including inter-communal violence, frequent natural disasters and fighting between the government and non-state parties which have created huge humanitarian needs and displaced thousands of people.
The European Commission is making €50 million available in 2014 to respond to the unfolding and intensifying humanitarian crisis in the country. At this stage, the total EU support for 2013/14 amounts to over €300 million.