The political crisis and conflict in South has been ongoing since 2013. The dynamic and multi-faceted nature of the South Sudanese displacement crisis has created significant challenges for humanitarian information management. Accessibility and security issues within South Sudan have impeded systematic data collection efforts, limiting the effectiveness of humanitarian planning and implementation, whilst displacement across South Sudan remains highly dynamic, with 1.9 million South Sudanese internally displaced and 2 million seeking refuge in neighboring countries. As the crisis continues to evolve, it is becoming increasingly important to fill information gaps in a systematic manner to promote a more effective humanitarian response.
One of the least understood parts of South Sudan is Pibor County in Jonglei State. REACH has only collected data once in the area, the most recent IPC highlighted Pibor as one of the more concerning counties, and since the October 2017 SMART survey, there has been no systematic data collection. Recent reports service as evidence that cattle raiding, for example the 2017 Duk cattle raids, has clearly become worse, more frequent, and far-ranging, but it is not clear why. Furthermore, changing seasonal patterns and the environment is likely driving the increase in frequency and intensity of cattle raiding. As found in a previous assessment in Yirol West county, cattle raiding is often used as coping strategy. Further, the assessment was indicative that cattle raiding is likely to become more intense, frequent, and involve an atomized/dissolution of homogeneous tribal structures, in which clans or families that previously protect one another start to turn on one another in order to survive.
The results, while preliminary, from a recent assessment in Kapoeta town were highly successful in mapping out the routes of cattle migration, the spread of cholera, and the dynamics of how people and animal migration operated in the region and facilitated the spread of cholera and other cholera like diseases in 2017. There are several very large implications of the study, which will require follow up work in Pibor and Juba: