On 9 July 2011, South Sudan became independent from the north, part of a 2005 peace agreement to end the 20-year-long war between the two regions, which has claimed over two million lives.
Even in the absence of conflict, the children of South Sudan face significant challenges. Millions of children have no access to schools, basic health care, vaccination programmes or clean water. Many are still displaced and at risk.
In addition, hundreds of thousands of new refugees from the north have put massive pressure on the country’s basic services, while the ongoing drought in East Africa is causing severe food shortages. In the southern state of Western Equatoria, children and families remain terrorized by the brutal Lord's Resistance Army.
UNICEF has operated in Sudan for almost 60 years, through decades of conflict, and we are one of the longest-operating organisations working for children across every state in the South.
Learn more about children in South Sudan.
