Our first year in South Sudan has had a concrete impact on people’s lives. “One of our participants said that even if the work of Finnish Refugee Council ended now, they would now be able to provide for their family,” country director Francis Eswap recalls.
A year ago, in the spring of 2024, we expanded our work to the world’s youngest country, South Sudan. The country, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011, has a short history that has been marked by inter-ethnic conflict, food shortages and extreme climatic events such as floods and droughts. Between 2013 and 2018, the country was torn by civil war, which killed an estimated 383 00 and forced 4 million people to flee their homes. The civil war officially ended with the 2018 peace agreement. However, not all groups involved in the war signed the agreement and inter-ethnic conflicts have continued.
“South Sudan has 64 ethnic groups and is very diverse in terms of cultures and languages. However, there are two clearly dominant groups, the Dinka and the Nuer,” Francis Eswap, our Country Director for South Sudan, says.
“South Sudan is a country of ongoing conflict: conflicts started before independence and continue today. Food insecurity and protection problems are key, and transportation is difficult,” he continues.
Forced migration and South Sudan
- South Sudan is home to 11.5 million people, of whom 1.9 million are internally displaced persons (IDPs) and 500 000 are refugees or asylum seekers. Of the refugees arriving in South Sudan, 94% have fled the conflict in Sudan and 80% are women and children.
- 2.3 million South Sudanese have fled their country’s conflicts and living conditions to neighbouring Ethiopia, Uganda, Sudan and Kenya. This is the largest refugee crisis in Africa.
- However, a significant number of those who fled South Sudan have since had no choice but to return to South Sudan due to the conflict in Sudan as well as food shortages and unrest in Ethiopia.
The FRC’s Country Director for South Sudan Francis Eswap says that South Sudan is highly diverse in terms of culture and languages.
The living conditions in South Sudan have been significantly affected by the conflict in Sudan since 2023. In February 2025, the situation in South Sudan further deteriorated as violence and conflict in the region escalated. This has increased forced displacement and the need for humanitarian assistance. The UN has warned that the country is on the brink of a new civil war. In the Humanitarian Development Index (HDI) South Sudan holds the last place and 76 per cent of the population live in poverty. The majority of people living in South Sudan are in need of humanitarian assistance.
South Sudan’s food security has deteriorated not only because of historical flooding over several consecutive years, but also as a result of conflict and the economic situation. The country’s economy relies on oil exports and the conflict in Sudan has significantly hampered the oil trade. In addition, WFP food aid to South Sudan was significantly reduced in 2024 and funding has decreased in 2025. This has significantly affected the work of actors in the region, including UNHCR. It is estimated that 57% of the population of South Sudan will face acute food insecurity in 2025.
Supporting returnees to South Sudan through cash assistance and financial literacy training (cash plus) and gender-based violence prevention
Since the 2018 peace agreement, 700 000 South Sudanese have returned home. Returnees face many challenges when they return: they often have no home, property or community to return to. Food is scarce and social services are inadequate. Many returnees have become IDPs due to inadequate support. Our work in South Sudan has therefore focused on Akobo County in Jonglei State situated near the border between South Sudan and Ethiopia, where returnees often remain.
Our aim is to support South Sudanese returnees by providing cash assistance and financial literacy training. Francis says that this combination of services is what makes FRC different from other actors in the region.
“Cash assistance saves lives. The education system in South Sudan has been dysfunctional for a long time, so financial literacy training is essential. It helps people learn how to keep track of their savings, interpret medical prescriptions and much more,” he explains.
According to Francis, cash aid has been used mainly to buy food and has also helped to set up small businesses.
“One of our participants said that even if the work of Finnish Refugee Council were to end now, they would now be able to provide for their family. A woman with disability was able to start her own business with her daughter. We are seeing a change in attitudes, children going back to school and people valuing themselves and looking to the future,” says Francis, describing the impact of our work funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Finland.
In addition to providing cash assistance and financial literacy training, FRC provides information on gender-based violence and its prevention to the targeted communities in the project area by training local community members to share information on the issue and referring women who have experienced violence to support services. Francis says that gender-based violence is often linked to power relations, which is why education is particularly important.
“Returnees have nothing to go back to. The main thing we can do is providing vital support and protection – and to work against gender-based violence,” Francis says.
We are seeing a change in attitudes, children going back to school and people valuing themselves and looking to the future.
New funding enables us to continue our vital work – 10 000 people to be supported in the second year
With the new fund just granted by the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, our work in South Sudan will continue until at least April 2026. Until then, our aim is to improve the food security and protection situation in the region by providing multi-purpose cash “plus” assistance to 800 vulnerable households. Our aim is to target especially female-headed families, families with children, older persons, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable households. The beneficiaries will not only receive unconditional cash to buy food and meet other essential needs, but also will have the opportunity to attend basic numeracy and financial literacy trainings to ensure that the cash received is used in a planned way for the benefit of the whole household.
“I am looking forward to next year and I am happy that we will be able to continue our work,” Francis said.
“The most important thing FRC can give South Sudanese in this situation is a sense of belonging to a community and a belief in the future. We are giving people the right skills and attitudes for the future,” he continues.
51 years old Chuol Puy Kherjiok (left) returned to South Sudan with his family in 2023 having fled the war in Sudan. The family was able to acquire a cow and found a tea shop with the support of FRC, and the children of the family were able to start school. “Now I can feed my family and keep my children at school. I am happy. Even if FRC left now, I would be able to look after my family,” the father of the family says.
Our work to prevent gender-based violence also continues. We provide training for communities and build capacity to respond to incidents of violence and discrimination based on gender and disability. In all our activities, we will work to promote gender equality and the inclusion of people with disabilities.
“In the second year, we will focus on expanding our work to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities and ensure that our work is accessible to all. Power relations continue to be a problem, so we want to focus on raising the voices of young people and women and supporting survivors of gender-based violence,” Francis stresses.
With continued funding, we will be able to support a total of 10,000 people, including returnees, IDPs and members of the host community. We will also continue our partnership with Nile Hope, the national NGO which has been co-implementing our interventions since the start of our presence in South Sudan. At the same time, our longer term objective is to strengthen the trust of local organisations and to seek other national partners in other geographical areas.
We want to focus on raising the voices of young people and women and supporting survivors of gender-based violence.
Francis says he is pleased with our work so far. However, he points out that the FRC can do more. In the mid-term, the aim is to expand our work from humanitarian assistance to more long-term development work.
“We are looking to start working locally on functional adult literacy, employment and youth skills development and expand from there as soon as we can,” Francis says.
Francis points out that the importance of humanitarian assistance in South Sudan is great and should not be underestimated: every success is a step towards a brighter future of the women and girls, men and boys targeted by our actions.
“FRC is making a difference: we aim at building resilience, changing mindsets and addressing cultural misconceptions and harmful traditions.” Francis explains.
“In my work, I see people learning to dream again.”
Read more about our work in South Sudan here.