Nairobi — South Sudan marks two years of independence today, but the millions who continue to face displacement, hunger, disease and extreme poverty will be hard pressed to find any reason to celebrate.
Aid agencies say they require US$485 millionfrom June until the end of 2013 to help some three million people "to survive and to rebuild their lives". IRIN has put together a list of some of the country's most serious humanitarian issues:
Conflict: Over the past two years, inter-communal violence has destabilized Jonglei State, causing displacement. Battles between rebels led by David Yau Yau and the national Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) have also increased insecurity in the same state. In May, more than 100,000 people fled Jonglei's Pibor County following clashes between the rebels and the SPLA.
Tension remains high in the disputed Abyei region, with tens of thousands still displaced by fighting in May 2011.
Access to conflict-affected populations remains a major challenge. Most recently, international medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières(MSF) reported on 8 July that some 20,000 people have been cut off from aid in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State after they fled violence in the disputed border area between Sudan and South Sudan.
Aid agencies also report being prevented by the government from accessing populations in need in Jonglei.
The integration into the SPLA of parts of some rebel movements - including Yau Yau's and Peter Gadet's South Sudan Liberation Army (SSLA) - saw a decline in militia activity in 2011 and 2012. Analysts say an amnesty issued to six militia leaders by President Salva Kiir in April could see further declines in militia-related violence, but for the moment, Yau Yau's militia remains active, although elders in the region say peace talks are imminent.
Overall, internal conflict has displaced some 354,670 people, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
Refugees: Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces - Sudan's national army - and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in Sudan's South Kordofan and Blue Nile states has forced more than 220,000 people into South Sudan's Upper Nile and Unity states. Overcrowding, outbreaks of disease, poor funding and flooding make caring for these refugees problematic for aid agencies. The ongoing rainy season - which blocks roads for months - will make aid delivery even harder.
Returnees: Close to two million South Sudanese have returned home since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, ahead of independence. According to the International Rescue Committee (IRC), many have returned to find their land occupied; IRC reports that "the legal framework and procedures for land allocation are unclear and poorly understood". Few have valid identification documents, meaning they often miss out on vital services such as health and education programmes.
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