South Sudan is home to 330,000 refugees, 123,000 are Sudanese refugees in Jamjang Ruweng Administrative Areas.

According to UNHCR, 95 percent are Sudanese, while others come from the Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ethiopia.

South Sudan has also hosted asylum-seekers from Eritrea and Burundi.

In December 2021, South Sudan became eligible to access resources from the International Development Association (IDA) to host refugees in its territory.

Countries playing host to refugees get a special financing window for supporting refugee populations.

This year, the World Bank, for the first time, will support programs specifically focusing on refugees and host communities in South Sudan.

The World Bank’s Board of Directors has approved $70m in special financing known as WHR as part of the Enhancing Community Resilience and Local Governance Project-II and COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness Project.

The Fund is critical to promoting access to basic health care, COVID-19 vaccines, clean water, and education for refugees and their host communities.

“While WHR support will not be a panacea, it will help the GoSS build on and consolidate the crucial gains of humanitarian aid and transition to a more durable, development-oriented approach to improving the socio-economic conditions of refugees and host communities,” Firas Raad, South Sudan’s World Bank Country Manager said.

UNHCR South Sudan’s Representative, Arafat Jamal was quoted saying “South Sudanese through their empathy and experience are very good toward refugees”.

South Sudan has signed on to the relevant regional and international refugee conventions and protocols, including the Global Compact on Refugees.

In 2012, South Sudan enacted a Refugee Act and established a Commission for Refugee Affairs to manage issues related to refugees.