Urban internally displaced persons (IDPs): The South Sudan’s experience with a focus on Juba

Published on March 8, 2021

Joseph Geng AKECH | genida

This brief highlights the emerging problem of growing number of urban IDPs in Juba. It draws attention to their unique experiences and challenges which the COVID-19 has exacerbated owing to their already poor living conditions and lack of access to basic social services. The brief argues that urgent and bold actions need to be taken to ensure that urban IDPs are not left behind in South Sudan’s development agenda. In particular, it recommends that; (i) the measures adopted by the government in fighting COVID-19 needs to prioritise urban IDPs and urges coordination with aid agencies to ensure that risk communication strategies are tailored to their needs and circumstances; (ii) that the government ensure provision of basic food aid to cushion sudden loss in income due to disruptions in the economy caused by COVID-19 and to ensure that the most vulnerable amongst urban IDPs are protected. Finally, it emphasises the need for the government to support long term settlement in areas that are surveyed and safe for them.

HOW TO CONTRIBUTE

Researching Internal Displacement publishes engaging and insightful short pieces of writing, artistic and research outputs, policy briefings and think pieces on internal displacement.

We welcome contributions from academics, practitioners, researchers, officials, artists, poets, writers, musicians, dancers, postgraduate students and people affected by internal displacement.

Contact the Editorial Team

How to Contribute

Cutting Aid Means Cutting Rights: Who Decides Which Rights Matter for Internally Displaced Persons?

By Kadidjatou Sawadogo, Paula Gaviria Betancur and Davina Saïd | Apr 14, 2026

Humanitarian funding cuts are increasingly shaping the realisation of rights for internally displaced persons (IDPs). Drawing on evidence from Haiti and South Sudan, this seventh volume in our series on ‘Internal Displacement in a Changing World Order’ examines how reductions in humanitarian assistance translate into operational trade-offs that affect access to food, healthcare, and protection. In many displacement contexts, humanitarian assistance functions as the system through which basic rights are realised in practice. The authors call for a rights-based approach to humanitarian financing that prioritises and protects funding for essential services in displacement contexts.

Basic Services and Humanitarian Support Amidst Conflict: To Whom to Turn as a Congolese IDP?

By Carolien Jacobs, Delu Lusambya and Patrick Milabyo Kyamusugulwa | Apr 9, 2026

This sixth volume in our series on ‘Internal Displacement in a Changing World Order’ looks into the impact of the DRC conflict and the shift in powers on the provision of selected basic public services for Congolese IDPs in the east of the country, most notably security, justice and education. We show that basic service provision by state and non-state actors is often inadequate, yet this does not necessarily create a void. Congo’s (civil) society is often stepping in and serving as the first humanitarian actors, responding to the most urgent needs of IDPs and other fellow citizens.

A Personal Reflection: National Ownership and Localisation in Displacement Contexts – Are We Ready?

By Peter de Clercq | Apr 7, 2026

This is the fifth volume in our series on ‘Internal Displacement in a Changing World Order’. In it, the author draws on his long experience within the United Nations to reflect on the approach to internal displacement. The piece argues that historical and current efforts on localisation have been primarily driven from a humanitarian and external perspective. Rather than considering it as an exit strategy, by engaging development and peace actors - and somewhat of an afterthought - localisation should be pursued as a pre-emptive and adaptive objective, anchored in full national ownership and principled ‘sovereignty as responsibility’.