Escalating Violence in South Sudan Displaces 280,000, Half of Them Children

A renewed surge of violence in northern and central South Sudan since late December 2025 has displaced at least 280,000 people in Jonglei State alone, the majority of them women and children, as humanitarian conditions deteriorate rapidly and health services collapse.

Humanitarian agencies warn that for many families, this is the second or third time they have been forced to flee.

"They fled with nothing," aid officials said, describing families sheltering in displacement camps left over from the country's civil war — camps with minimal services — while others are hiding in remote areas without access to food, water or medical care.

An estimated 53 per cent of those displaced are children.

Children Facing Grave Risks

More than half of the people caught in the escalating crisis are children, now exposed to severe protection risks, including:

• Killing and maiming

• Recruitment into armed groups

• Family separation

• Gender-based violence

• Deep psychological trauma

Humanitarian agencies warn that the long-term impact on this generation could be devastating.

Health System Under Attack

The violence is also crippling South Sudan's fragile health infrastructure.

Since fighting escalated, 11 health facilities have been attacked and looted, while nutrition centres that were keeping vulnerable children alive have been forced to close.

In Bor Hospital, aid workers met Aheu Deng, a young mother who fled into dense bush with her two-year-old son when fighting erupted.

Her family once lived from cattle and farming. Now, everything is gone.

After days in hiding, Aheu reached Bor exhausted, in shock and unable to produce breast milk due to stress and hunger. She had no money to buy food.

Aid officials say she is among the fortunate few who managed to reach medical care. Many others have not.

Cholera Rising, Malnutrition Surging

The crisis is compounding existing public health emergencies.

Since January, 479 cholera cases have been recorded nationwide, including 125 cases in Jonglei State, with treatment centres overstretched and under-resourced.

Meanwhile, an estimated 825,000 children across Jonglei, Unity and Eastern Equatoria are now at risk of acute malnutrition.

Humanitarian agencies stress the severity of this threat:A child suffering from acute malnutrition without treatment is 12 times more likely to die.

Pregnant and lactating mothers are also increasingly cut off from maternal and newborn care.

Humanitarian Infrastructure Targeted

Relief operations are being further hampered by direct attacks on humanitarian facilities.

On 3 February, an MSF-supported hospital in Lankien was bombed, destroying its warehouse and essential medical supplies.

Across conflict-affected areas, humanitarian vehicles, food stocks and communications equipment have been looted. Access remains severely restricted, particularly in non-Government-controlled areas.

Limited Lifelines Amid Growing Needs

Despite insecurity, UNICEF and partner organizations have begun delivering emergency aid.

UNICEF reported being the first UN agency to deploy supplies after violence resumed, delivering 2.5 metric tons of emergency health and nutrition supplies to Akobo — marking the first such delivery to the area since the escalation.

The agency is:

• Responding to cholera outbreaks in Duk County

• Running primary healthcare and nutrition programmes

• Providing water, sanitation and child protection services in Eastern Equatoria and Unity

• Operating nutrition centres in Bor to treat severely malnourished children

However, agencies warn that current efforts represent isolated lifelines and cannot match the scale of the unfolding crisis.

Urgent Calls for Ceasefire and Access

Humanitarian organizations are calling for:

• An immediate cessation of hostilities

• Rapid, unhindered humanitarian access across all affected areas

• Protection of civilians and humanitarian infrastructure

With hundreds of thousands displaced and children comprising more than half of those affected, aid agencies warn that time is running out.

Without urgent action, they say, South Sudan risks sliding deeper into a humanitarian catastrophe with long-lasting consequences for an entire generation.