South Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan 2025 In Review

In 2025, South Sudan continued to face multiple, overlapping shocks and trends that worsened the humanitarian situation and increased the needs of vulnerable communities. According to the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP), an estimated 9.3 million people, approximately three-quarters of the population, required humanitarian assistance. Several factors, including protracted conflict, intercommunal violence, the worsening food insecurity and economic crisis, spillover effects from the Sudan crisis, insufficient humanitarian funding and extreme climate events such as flooding and localized dry spells, exacerbated the humanitarian situation. South Sudan remains one of the most dangerous contexts for humanitarians. In 2025, continued attacks on civilians, humanitarian staff and assets severely constrained the delivery of life-saving assistance and worsened the fragile situation in affected communities. At least 21 humanitarian workers were killed in the line of duty, while 606 humanitarian access incidents were reported during the year, up from 453 incidents in 2024.

Despite these challenges, humanitarians reached approximately 4.3 million people across South Sudan with assistance. This represents 80 per cent of the 5.4 million people, including some 680,000 refugees, targeted through the 2025 HNRP. This includes more than 3.1 million people who received food assistance and livelihood support, and about 2 million people who accessed health care services. In addition, nearly 707,000 people received protection services, while over 514,000 people accessed safe water and sanitation services. Nearly 530,000 people received emergency shelter and essential household items, while more than 627,000 people were reached through camp coordination and camp management services. About 1.2 million children, as well as pregnant and lactating women, were provided with emergency nutritional assistance, and 334,000 children were supported to access education in emergencies. A total of 8,169 metric tonnes of humanitarian cargo were transported during the year. In 2025, only US$778 million, representing 46 per cent of the US$1.7 billion required for the HNRP, was received. Despite this funding shortfall, 293 humanitarian organizations, 66 per cent of which were South Sudanese nongovernmental organizations, contributed to the response, reaching people in dire need across the country.

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