Pushing the boundaries of humanitarian assistance
How rapid response teams are saving lives in some of the hardest-to-reach places in South Sudan
Even at the best of times, delivering aid in South Sudan is nothing short of a true feat. The current conflict, the result of a political rift between leaders and rival groups in 2013, has produced one of the worst humanitarian crisis of the modern era.
Limited or no infrastructure, banditry, checkpoints set up by warring parties, general insecurity and a six-month rainy season are just some of the factors that make South Sudan one of the toughest places to deliver humanitarian aid.
“They have saved countless lives sometimes under conditions of insecurity.”
In 2014, the World Food Programme (WFP) along with partners, pioneered an innovative initiative in which emergency mobile teams are able to reach people affected by conflict in remote, often isolated, areas with life-saving assistance.
How it works
Known as the Integrated Rapid Response Mechanism (IRRM), the initiative plugs critical gaps in life-saving humanitarian assistance in South Sudan by enabling humanitarians to meet the needs of people who would otherwise be inaccessible.
The key to the IRRM is that it responds to the rapidly changing environment on the ground.
The “integrated” teams consist of staff from the United Nations World Food Programme, UNICEF, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and partner NGOs whose work is vital in seeing that food, nutrition and other critical supplies reach people in need — in time.
Rough camping in rough territory
The teams usually travel by WFP-chartered helicopters and sleep in tents in camps in the middle of the bush. They register people in need and clear drop zones so that WFP can air-drop critical food, nutrition supplies and other urgently-needed items, from a fleet of Ilyushin-76 aircraft. In some places, they are supported by WFP logisticians moving supplies in by river or land.
On average, a team works in one location for one week. But teams carry enough supplies to last them up to two weeks in case of emergencies.
Life for teams is unpredictable. WFP Monitoring Assistant Sokri Edward Alison, an IRRM veteran, has lost count of the number of missions he has undertaken. But he remembers each time he had to extend his stay due to flight cancellations.
“During the rainy season, one must always budget for an additional day or two,” he says with a broad smile. ‘Flights can be cancelled at short notice due to bad weather. That’s the way it is!”
Defeating famine
His luggage reflects camping: a first aid kit, cans of purified water, purifying tablets in case water runs out, dried food, a flashlight, a lantern, a pair of gumboots, raincoat, fruit, insect repellent (the mosquitoes are tough), a sleeping mat, tent and an overdose of courage. You really need the latter!
In 2017, IRRM teams faced their biggest test when famine was declared in Leer and Mayendit counties with a million people at risk. In response, WFP, FAO and UNICEF scaled-up operations, deploying 36 missions, adapting distribution cycles to provide more frequent relief and nutrition assistance and drawing on each other’s strength in the ensuing five-month response.
The structure of the IRRM, which allows for an extremely fast and effective response, and its agility, probably its most potent weapon, contributed to defeating the emergency. By May, Leer and Mayendit were clear of famine, and an expected deterioration in Koch and Panyijar counties was prevented.
Taking risks to save lives
“IRRM teams have contributed greatly to averting further starvation and loss of life. The teams have overseen the delivery of life-saving assistance to those without any other means to either receive, produce or buy their own food.” says Adnan Khan, WFP’s Country Director in South Sudan. “They have saved countless lives sometimes under conditions of insecurity.”
There are many different risks. “Danger is always lurking around,” says Samuel Monday, a WFP Monitoring Assistant, recounting his encounters with snakes. “You are asleep in your tent and the watchman alerts you to the presence of a big snake.”
A magnet for people in need
But the benefits are many. The IRRM allows people to receive more services simultaneously. WFP food distributions, which attract large numbers, act as triggers for wider life-saving interventions. FAO distributes rapid response kits so families weakened by conflict can start growing food and catching fish.
UNICEF nutrition treatment and vaccination campaigns reach more people than before.
In 2017, IRRM teams conducted 230 missions across South Sudan, reaching 800,000 people with 81,000 metric tons of food and nutritious products.
The eight largest donors in 2017 to WFP’s operations in South Sudan were the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, Germany, Canada, Japan, Central Emergency Response Fund and the South Sudan Humanitarian Fund.
In 2018, as hunger peaks between May and July just as the main rainy season descends on South Sudan, the IRRM, with sufficient donor support and invaluable contributions from donors like Australia will once again make a big difference for millions of the most vulnerable in the remotest places.
