EXECUTIVE SUMMARY – KEY FINDINGS
Most of South Sudan is in the grip of a protracted humanitarian crisis fueled by years of chronic underdevelopment, conflict and natural disasters. In December 2013 political conflict erupted into abrupt clashes in Juba, which quickly spread across the country. A total of 1.5 million South Sudanese have been displaced and 2.5 million people are currently facing a food crisis.
People from the Greater Upper Nile (GUN) region (Jonglei, Unity and Upper Nile States) have been most affected. The conflict, coupled with underdevelopment and poor infrastructure, has negatively impacted on household food supply and income. The conflict destroyed food production, storage facilities and transport infrastructure, disrupted markets and deprived traders of valuable stock and customers. Many small rural markets are now barely functional. Livestock and crop production has declined alarmingly. Displaced families lost valuable production assets including seeds, tools and land, which had a knock on effect in further reducing domestic production during the 2014 season.
Manyo County is classified as an IPC stage 3 Crisis. The IPC classification (Jan 2015 update) predicts that many households will start running out of food in January 2015, several months less than in a typical year when food stocks last until April or May.
Whilst older people and people with disabilities may make up a smaller percentage of the overall population, they constitute 25% of a typical humanitarian caseload of Persons with Specific Needs (PSN). Older people and people with disabilities are often the most affected in situations of war and displacement as their ability to cope is compromised by their physical disabilities with reduced mobility and limited access to services.
For older people and people with reduced mobility the village market is an important source of food supply. Older people with limited income and flexibility are often more dependent on the village market for essential food supplies than other members of the community. If the village market fails to supply enough food supplies, which is a likely scenario in the conflict affected states, food availability becomes a major problem for older people and people with limited mobility. Reduced market functionality compounds their already limited access to food and increases their dependence on others for access to the food supply.