South Sudan

GOAL has been working in South Sudan since 1985, delivering programmes focused on Health, Nutrition, WASH, Food Security, and Livelihoods. With over nine million people in need of humanitarian assistance in South Sudan, GOAL is responding to urgent challenges such as food insecurity and displacement, among others. In 2024 alone, more than two million people benefited from GOAL’s humanitarian efforts across the country.

Currently, GOAL is implementing projects in Ulang and Renk in Upper Nile State, Twic in Warrap State, Kajo Keji in Central Equatoria State, and the Abyei Special Administrative Area.

Above all, GOAL is dedicated to partnering with vulnerable communities to deliver sustainable, innovative early responses to crises, while supporting them in building long-term solutions to reduce poverty and vulnerability.

What we do in South Sudan

Emergency Response

Resilient Health

Food & Nutrition Security

Livelihoods and Inclusion

Emergency response for people in crisis

GOAL's Emergency Response programme is designed to meet immediate need whilst also helping communities prepare for, absorb and respond to future shocks. As part of this, GOAL works with displaced populations in two camp settings in Melut - supporting integrated clinics for primary health and nutrition. The GOAL team responded to an influx of internally displaced people in Ulang by switching from static to mobile health clinics.

GOAL also leads a consortium 'RECOVER' programme. This sees the team address immediate household needs in Upper Nile State through unconditional cash transfers. Resilience building activity focuses on increased access to health and education services, livelihoods and income generation, reduced pressure on social capital and the reduction of negative coping strategies.

Strengthening primary healthcare services

This year has seen an expansion of GOAL's Resilient Health programme in South Sudan. We now support more than 60 health facilities, with focus areas including community health promotion, nutrition, immunisation, disease control, maternal and child health. GOAL is also working to build the capacity of county, state and national health systems, improve the delivery of primary healthcare services and enhance accessibility. In 2024, GOAL Sudan reached over 435,000 people through their health programming.

In 2024, our Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programmes reached over 275,000 people in South Sudan, improving access to clean water, promoting basic sanitation, and helping to reduce the risk of disease.

As part of this, GOAL trains and mentors healthcare staff to build their understanding around the needs of women, children and young people. The team also works to strengthen health information systems and management processes - supporting state-level ministries to develop strategic frameworks that will help streamline the delivery of effective public health services.

Building resilience to climate shocks and stresses

Closely linked to GOAL's work in Resilient Health, our team have been delivering comprehensive nutrition programming in South Sudan for three decades. In 2024, over 1 million people were reached with GOAL's food and nutrition security interventions in South Sudan. Our nutrition programming focuses on the provision of preventive and curative interventions to build communities’ understanding of nutrition, encourage positive practice and treat identified cases.

Work also includes a supplementary feeding programme, with resilience-building activity designed to increase food production - targeting good agronomic practices to staple crop farmers, who share their learning with wider groups. GOAL also provides cash transfers for people in the lean season, when volatile weather conditions put agricultural livelihoods at risk.

GOAL expanded the Management of At-risk Mothers and Infants (MAMI) programme from four to 26 health facilities in Twic County, providing improved care for malnourished mothers and children. In Upper Nile, GOAL implemented a Market Systems Development (MSD) approach, strengthening fisheries to improve food security and economic opportunities for vulnerable populations.

Skills training for Sustainable Livelihoods

GOAL supports the diversification of Sustainable Livelihoods by prioritising agricultural training, resource distribution and the development of Village Savings Loan Associations (VLSAs). To do this, GOAL works closely with staple crop and vegetable farmer groups, training trainers on good agronomic practices and giving them the skills they need to share their learning with other groups.

GOAL leads a consortium for the THRIVE programme (Transforming Household Resilience through Inclusive Economic Development), which supports over 733,000 people across 120,000 households in South Sudan. The programme strengthens household resilience by improving income and food security through market-led and gender-responsive strategies.

The team is also working to establish and support REFLECT groups. This provides women with focused training on numeracy, literacy and business development. All graduates are then given the chance to receive a small grant as seed funding for their own businesses. They are also supported in setting up VSLAs, which facilitate savings and credit to support business growth and expansion.

Key Achievements

In 2024, GOAL Sudan reached over 435,000 people through their health programming.
Over 1 million people were reached with GOAL's food and nutrition security interventions last year.
A further 167,000+ people, mostly children, were supported through curative malnutrition projects.
GOAL's emergency response efforts helped over 382,000 people survive acute crises in 2024.