Community Approaches to Epidemic Management in South Sudan: Lessons from local healthcare systems in tackling COVID-19

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South Sudanese people have extensive knowledge of infectious diseases and experience of organizing responses to epidemics during wars and other crises. There are multiple, locally-specific methods used by communities for interrupting infection transmission and managing epidemics. This report documents these community infectious disease management strategies, based on sustained investigative research in the Yei, Juba, Wau, Malakal, Aweil West and Rubkona areas in 2020. The research encourages collaborative engagement with local knowledge and community healthcare leadership….

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The Economic Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic in South Sudan: An Update

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This policy brief studies the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Sudan. The findings are educative. First, the health effects of the pandemic in the country have been surprisingly less pronounced than expected, marked by very low morbidity and fatality rates. Second, despite this positive health news, the pandemic has had negative effects on the economy, starting with dramatic declines in domestic production and revenue collection, followed by a very volatile rising cost…

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The first sixty days of COVID-19 in a humanitarian response setting: a descriptive epidemiological analysis of the outbreak in South Sudan

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Introduction: the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020. South Sudan, a low-income and humanitarian response setting, reported its first case of COVID-19 on April 5, 2020. We describe the socio-demographic and epidemiologic characteristics of COVID-19 cases in this setting. Methods: we conducted a cross-sectional descriptive analysis of data for 1,330 confirmed COVID-19 cases from the first 60 days of the outbreak. Results: among the 1,330 confirmed cases, the mean…

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INTERNEWS COVID-19 MEDIA BULLETIN: Reporting on COVID-19 in South Sudan (Dec. 2020)

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This bi-weekly bulletin is designed for and by media partners, journalists and other interested stakeholders in South Sudan reporting and working on COVID-19, and other related health and development challenges. It shares citizen concerns on COVID-19 and the humanitarian response, provides verified information about health measures of the Ministry of Health and partners and profiles trustworthy (re)sources and responses. It also shares citizen concerns on COVID-19 and the humanitarian response. Download

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Evolving Community Perceptions of COVID-19 in South Sudan

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It’s been nine months since the first COVID-19 case was documented in South Sudan in April 2020 and aid agencies have had to work alongside communities across the county with varying and shifting perspectives since in responding to the pandemic. This blog, written by CSRF Project Officer Lona Morgan, explores the changing perceptions of COVID-19 amongst South Sudanese communities starting from the period when news of COVID-19 first emerged in the country (March 2020), three…

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How many Children and Young People have Internat Access at Home? Estimating digital connectivity during the COVID-19 pandemic

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Key messages Globally, 2.2 billion children and young people aged 25 years or less – two-thirds of children and young people worldwide – do not have an internet connection at home. More than two-thirds of school-age girls and boys aged approximately 3 to 17 years (1.3 billion children) and 63 per cent of youths aged 15 to 24 years (almost 760 million youths) lack internet access at home. 768 million children and young people aged…

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COVID-19 and Fragile Peace Process in South Sudan

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The recently signed Revitalized peace Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) on 12 September 2018 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, by the warring parties in South Sudan, has been widely extolled and commended as a significant development signaling the dawn of peace. The R-ARCSS provides broad comprehensive framework for key reform processes to usher the country towards stable democracy. As the world suffers from the second wave of…

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COVID-19: A Catastrophe for Children in Sub-Saharan Africa

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This report investigates how COVID-19 and other shocks have impacted child well-being in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) during 2020 and the potential role of cash transfers and external resources to help children and economies. It reviews the latest social, economic and financial information from a range of global databases and modelling exercises, draws on emerging country-level reporting and carries out projections where recent data are unavailable. Although information remains incomplete and things are quickly evolving, the…

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If not now, when?

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This report looks at the extent to which older people’s rights are being upheld in emergencies and their needs met. The picture it paints is a bleak one. Although some efforts are being made to support older people, overall, the humanitarian system is failing by the standards it has set itself. The report draws on the findings of needs assessments carried out by HelpAge International in the 13 months to the end of 2019. We interviewed…

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A lifeline at risk: COVID-19, Remittances and Children

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Overview of remittances Remittances – money and other assistance sent by migrants, refugees and displaced persons – are a key support for hundreds of millions of families and children around the world. Globally, 800 million people – about one in every nine people worldwide – live in households receiving international remittances. In some countries, more than 30 per cent of all children have at least one parent who works and lives away from home. In…

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