Jur River County, Western Bahr el-Ghazal State
DEMOGRAPHY
2008 NBS Census population: 127,771
2021 NBS PES population estimate*: 245,724
2022 UN OCHA population estimate*: 283,766
Ethnic groups: Balanda Bor, Luo/‘Jur Chol’, Dinka Marial Bai
Displacement Figures Q3 2022: 5,135 IDPs (-11,703 Q1 2020) and 64,983 returnees (+30,206 Q1 2020)
IPC Food Security: November 2022 – Crisis (Phase 3); IPC Projections: December to March 2023 – Crisis (Phase 3); April to July 2023 – Crisis (Phase 3)
ECONOMY & LIVELIHOODS
Jur River County is located in Western Bahr el-Ghazal State. It borders Wau County to the west, Northern Bahr el-Ghazal State to the north-west, Warrap State to the east and Western Equatoria State to the south.
The county falls within the ironstone plateau agro-pastoral livelihoods zone (FEWSNET 2018). The natural resources available in Jur River County allow residents to engage in a variety of livelihoods, including agriculture, cattle-keeping and fishing. According to the FAO and WFP (2018), approximately 75% of households in Jur River were estimated to engage in farming, increasing slightly to 78% by 2021. In 2021, gross cereal yields were estimated to be 1.3 tonnes per hectare, falling to 1.1 tonnes per hectare in 2022 (FAO/WFP 2023). The presence of livestock in the area also allows for the use of cow dung to maintain soil fertility in Jur River. Groundnut, sorghum and maize are commonly grown in the county, with more limited cultivation of sesame (simsim). A minority of residents also cultivate vegetables, cassava and millet. There is a greater presence of cattle in Jur River compared to Wau and Raja Counties in the state. Local markets rely on open trade routes between Jur River and feeder markets such as Wau and Tonj.
The IPC projected the county as being at a crisis (IPC level 3) level of food insecurity in November 2022, with conditions projected to persist at the same level until at least July 2023. A Key drivers of food insecurity in the area are sustained insecurity, including inter-communal violence, as well as displacement of farmers since 2015.
INFRASTRUCTURE & SERVICES
Jur River’s headquarters is at Nyin Akok currently located in Wau Bai Payam. As a water source, the Jur River attracts livestock during the dry season. Due to its strategic location bordering Warrap and Northern Bahr el-Ghazal, Jur River is relatively well served by its road infrastructure compared to many counties. The state capital of Wau is located within two kilometers of the western border of Jur River and roads cross through Jur River from the north, east and south to connect to this large commercial center. An additional bridge over the Jur River, funded by the Chinese government, is under construction and will replace an earlier bridge built in 1973. The area of the county with the least amount of road infrastructure is the southern region, though the River Jur offers some level of transport potential to those residents living in the southwestern portion of the county.
While the functioning of some schools has been compromised by their usage as shelters for displaced people, Jur River is home to one hundred seventy-seven (177) primary schools and eight (8) secondary schools located across the county. There are currently no Early Childhood Development centres in the county.**
Jur River County was reported to have fifty-eight (58) health facilities, fifty-five (55) of which were reported to be functional. Among the functional health facilities, there are forty-four (44) PHCUs, ten (10) PHCCs and one (1) hospital in 2022. This means that there were an estimated 1.85 PHCUs per 15,000 people and 1.77 PHCCs per 50,000 people according to the WHO. Mary Help Hospital is reported to be of limited functionality.
According to OCHA’s Humanitarian Needs Overview for 2023,nearly 196,300 people in the county are estimated to have humanitarian needs (up significantly from 125,400 in 2021). This is equivalent to approximately 69% of the total projected population of Jur River County according to the HNO. In 2021, Jur River was identified as a flood-affected county by the Emergency Response Coordination Center. Insecurity and displacement has meant that Jur River County is estimated to have high needs in terms of shelter, protection, and gender-based violence. Additionally, displacement has placed additional pressures on the host community, requiring additional humanitarian services. IDPs in the area have sought out local institutions, such as schools and government offices, to provide shelter, which impacts the ability of these institutions to function normally.
CONFLICT DYNAMICS
Although the national-level conflict that broke out in 2013 has not had a significant impact on Jur River County, cattle raids and disputes between pastoralists in neighboring Warrap and Western Bahr el-Ghazal states often occur. Key drivers of conflict in the county include the destruction of crops by livestock and contested access to grazing land and water sources. In May 2017, tensions arose when farmers refused to allow herders to enter their land as crops had yet to be harvested.
Between February and June 2019, more than 28,000 people fled communal clashes in Jur River County. These clashes were linked to cattle keepers migrating from Tonj, who were seeking pastures and water for their cattle. Kuarjena and Rocrocdong Payams in particular were impacted by violence and displacement in early March 2019, although at the time many of the IDPs were displaced within their payam. As clashes continued, IDPs began to flee as far as Wau County and Tambura County, the majority of whom were women and children (IOM DTM, 2019). A Tri-State Conference held in July 2019 sought to address ongoing violence but seems to have so far had limited success in halting the violence.
ADMINISTRATION & LOGISTICS
Payams: Wau Bai (County Headquarters), Kangi, Kuarjena, Marial Bai, Rocrocdong/Rojrojdong, Udici
UN OCHA 2020 map of Jur River County: https://reliefweb.int/map/south-sudan/south-sudan-jur-river-county-reference-map-march-2020
Roads:
- Four primary roads connecting state capital Wau to key towns in neighbouring states (namely Warrap, Lakes, and Northern Bahr-el Ghazal states) pass through Jur River County, which lies at the eastern and northern edges of Western Bahr-el Ghazal State. The County’s key towns of Kuarjena and Kangi also lie alongside these roads. All of these roads were designated as being passable during both the rainy season of 2022 and dry season of 2023, with the exception of the road running north-east to Lunyaker in Gogrial East County (as well as a secondary road running to Warrap town in Tonj North County), for which information on road conditions is absent.
- A tertiary road cuts through central Jur River County, running from Targa to Goku (in Wau County) via The condition of this road is unknown.
Heli and Fixed-Wing Airplane Airstrips: None
Other airstrips: Mapel
REFERENCES
FAO/WFP. (2023). Special Report: FAO/WFP Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission to South Sudan. Retrieved 31 July 2023. See equivalent versions of the CFSAM report online for data from previous years.
FEWSNET. (2018). Livelihoods Zone Map and Descriptions for the Republic of South Sudan (Updated). Retrieved 10 July 2023.
IOM DTM. (2019). South Sudan – Jur River Displacement To Wau (March-June 2019). Retrieved 18 July 2023.
IOM DTM. (2020). Wau Displacement Sites Intention Perception Survey. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
OCHA. (2021). Humanitarian Needs Overview: South Sudan 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
Peace Agreements. (2019). First Review of Marial Bai Agreement on Cattle Seasonal Movement: 29 October-1 November 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
UNHRC, United Nations Human Rights Council. (2020). Report of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
REPORTS on JUR RIVER
De Graaff, J. (2015). Integrating mental health services into primary health care in South Sudan: a case study. HealthNet TPO/Dutch consortium for Rehabilitation. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
IOM. (2013). Village Assessment Survey: County Atlas. Unavailable online as of 3 August 2023.
REACH. (2023). South Sudan Jur River County Climatic Shocks and Resilience Assessment – Western Bahr el Ghazal State. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
* Note: The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Population Estimation Survey (PES) was published in April 2023 based on data collected in May-June 2021. This uses a different method to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Population Working Group (PWG) figures produced based on a combination of 2008 census data and population movement data up to 2022. The large discrepancies are primarily attributable to these different methods rather than changes in the actual population numbers over time and have been disputed by some civil society and analysts. Although the later PWG figures were produced more recently for the HNO 2023, at the request of the Government of South Sudan the data and method used by the PES is being used as the basis for the Common Operational Dataset (COD) for the UN system for the HNO 2024 and likely beyond. For further detail on this and other sources used in the county profiles, see the accompanying Methodological Note.
** Note: SAMS enrolment data from 2022 indicates that there is a disproportionately large number of schools in Western Bahr-el Ghazal State which have fewer than ten pupils enrolled.