



































IJO - INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH SCIENCES AND NURSING  

 ( ISSN: 2814-2098 )    
                                                                                                                         Dr. Angelina Bazugba * 

https://ijojournals.com/                                          Volume 07 || Issue 09|| September, 2024 || 

Uncovering the Gendered Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in South Sudan: What Resilience and Recovery measures are needed? 

 

Title:  Uncovering the Gendered Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in South Sudan: What 
Resilience and Recovery measures are needed? 

Name of Author:  Dr. Angelina Bazugba; Assoc. Professor, School of Social and Economic 
Studies; and Director of the National Transformational Leadership 
Institute (NTLI), University of Juba;  

Contacts: P.O Box 82, Juba, South Sudan;  

Abstract 

The policy measures introduced following the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic have 
dramatically disrupted the daily livelihood of low-income female-headed households. Most of 
them are less-educated, self-employed or employed in informal sectors without social protection 
or any kind of insurance. As care givers and head of households, the majority are involved in 
hand-to-mouth businesses, own fewer assets and live in densely populated areas which puts them 
at high-risk of exposure to the COVID-19 infection. 

Literature indicates that social distancing and stay at home policies can contribute to flattening of 
the curve of infections and reduce pressure on health systems. Yet, such measures are less 
productive in the absence of alternative sources of income and livelihood. Women and girls are 
disproportionately affected due to increased burden of unpaid work, gender-based violence, food 
insecurity, poverty and economic hardship. While there is inadequate health services and densely 
populated households, COVID-19 has increased water usages by 50 percent. I argue that 
understanding the gender-differentiated impacts of disease outbreak is fundamental to creating 
effective and equitable policies and interventions that will leave no one behind. The research 
calls for clear policies on economic recovery and food distribution, behavioral change, 
information sharing and continuous inclusion of women in planning and decision-making 
structures to ensure that their concerns are effectively integrated in the implementation and 
monitoring of the COVID-19 prevention and response measures. 

Key words: Gender, COVID-19; Protection; Participation; Socio- Economic impact; Gender-
Based violence, recovery, resilience. 

Introduction 

The emergence of the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has not only caused panic across 
the globe but has resulted to massive utilization of global expert networks and partnerships for 
laboratory, infection prevention and control, clinical management and mathematical modelling 
projecting the infection frontier.[1]WHO has also continued to work with networks of researchers 
and other experts to coordinate global work on surveillance, epidemiology, modelling, 
diagnostics, clinical care and treatment, and other ways to identify, manage and limit onward 
transmission of the disease. Correspondingly, the social and economic predicaments of the 
COVID-19 pandemic, have called for unprecedented measures to be taken by local and national 
governments including social distancing, restriction of the movement and curfew at night hours, 
border closures, the confinement of entire cities, regions and countries, as well as the temporary 

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IJO - INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH SCIENCES AND NURSING  

 ( ISSN: 2814-2098 )    
                                                                                                                         Dr. Angelina Bazugba * 

https://ijojournals.com/                                          Volume 07 || Issue 09|| September, 2024 || 

Uncovering the Gendered Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in South Sudan: What Resilience and Recovery measures are needed? 

 

closure of formal and informal economic activities etc. Such significant measures can 
dramatically flatten the curve of infections and reduce pressure on health facilities if there is 
adequate number of hospital beds, ventilators and other health care facilities.[2] South Sudan like 
other African countries, the Pandemic has served as a wake-up call and an opportunity to 
improve weak infrastructures, health facilities, transition of the education system to e-learning 
and improvement of data and statistical capacity in relation to health and civil 
registration.[3]While such measures are vital, the pandemic’s global outreach has already widened 
inequalities within and between countries, worsened already existing fragilities, and restricted 
employment and investment prospects.[4] For South Sudan which has been in a cycles of conflict 
and economic hardship, the emergence of COVID-19 is likely to have increased inequalities 
between men and women and boys and girls.  

By December 20th 2021, the Republic of South Sudan had confirmed 13,831 cases out of which 
12,614 cases recovered.[5]With the frail health system and very informal and vulnerable 
economy, the COVID-19 conclusively, has imposed heavy human, financial, economic, and 
social costs. Although prevention measures previously adopted by the government had been 
relaxed with increased flattening of the curve, the emergency of COVID- 19 has significantly 
impacted citizens’ lives, disrupted socio-economic development activities and the 
implementation of the peace agreement. Consequently, there is increased poverty, street begging, 
armed robberies, social devastation and non-compliance and negligence of COVID- 19 policies 
and guidelines. The initial studies conducted by the University of Juba and UNDP (2020) 
revealed that households were under significant strain due to loss of income. Specifically, 
women and youth who are mainly involved in informal sectors or self-employed were devastated 
as a result of lockdown. The closure of businesses had also triggered price hikes for food, 
medicines, essential household commodities and public transport fare. This paper seeks to 
explore two major questions: What is the differential impact of COVID-19 upon women and 
men? What resilience and recovery measures can be put in place to support the marginalised 
groups to bounce back?  Thus, the objectives of the research were to identify the gender and 
socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic with a particular focus on the unique needs, 
capacities, vulnerabilities and opportunities for women, girls, men and boys; identify the gender 
responsive interventions in place and provide recommendations to that will contribute to policy 
and programmatic service delivery and recovery across sectors. 
The first part of this paper has introduced the study, key questions and research objectives. It 
goes on providing the socio economic and health context of South Sudan, followed by gender 
dimensions of COVID-19 pandemic, and the justification for conducting a study. Part two 
provides the methodology, while part three presents the results and discussion on the 
vulnerability factors in the South Sudanese context. The last section concludes with policy 
implications and recommendations.   

South Sudan Socio-Economic Development and Health Context 

South Sudan continues to encounter a serious humanitarian crisis due to the cumulative effects of 
years of conflict which has destroyed people’s livelihoods. Extreme levels of acute food 
insecurity persist across the country and nearly more than 6 million (about half of the population) 

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IJO - INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH SCIENCES AND NURSING  

 ( ISSN: 2814-2098 )    
                                                                                                                         Dr. Angelina Bazugba * 

https://ijojournals.com/                                          Volume 07 || Issue 09|| September, 2024 || 

Uncovering the Gendered Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in South Sudan: What Resilience and Recovery measures are needed? 

 

are facing crisis-level food insecurity, with 1.4 million children under 5 years expected to be 
acutely malnourished in 2021.[6]Almost 4 million people remain displaced by the humanitarian 
crisis, with nearly 1.6 million people displaced internally and some 2.2 million refugees in six 
neighboring countries. Women and children continue to be the most affected.  In 
2020, communities were hit hard by the triple shock of intensified conflict and sub-national 
violence, a second consecutive year of major flooding, and the impacts of COVID-19, 
exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, 
intensified a burden to a country with continuing pockets of conflict and fragility, recurrent 
naturally and human-induced systemic shocks and stress, weak institutions and economic 
instability.[7] Following the independence in July 2011, the country fell back into conflict in 2013 
and 2016 respectively which culminated with the signing of Peace Agreement (R-ARCSS) in 
September 2018.  

Poverty is endemic and widespread with at least 80 percent of the 13.3 million population live 
below the poverty line (National Bureau of Statistics2010). Women, in particular female headed 
households make up to 51.6% of the poor.[8] With an economic annual growth rate of 3.2% by 
2018/2019 and total fertility rate of 7, the population is predominantly young with the age group 
under 30 years accounting for about 75%.[i] With a high level of illiteracy 73% for men and 84% 
for women, the unemployment rate in South Sudan remained unchanged at 11.50% since 2016 
(UNOCHA 2016/2017).[ii] Those in non-wage employment in the agriculture sector account for 
61 percent of the employed. Only a minority of workers enjoy formal salaried employment 
(13%) or employment in the tertiary sector (19%).[iii]Poverty levels are expected to remain 
extremely high, with about 82 percent of the population in South Sudan below the USD1.90 
poverty line (2011 purchasing power parity).[iv]The insecurity situation and the decline in global 
oil prices since 2016 negatively affected the economy, leading to high (50 percent) youth and 
women unemployment. The next section explains the gender dimensions of COVID-19 
pandemic more broadly, but with specific experiences from South Sudan. 

The Gendered dimensions of COVID-19 Pandemic 

Globally women make up 70% of the workers in health and other social sectors susceptible to 
COVID- 19 outbreak including hospitals, tourism, air transport, entertainment, cleaning and 
domestic services.  This means that the global pandemic risks an increase in socio-economic 
inequalities and exposure to the virus from infected patients and the related socioeconomic 
consequences. The evidence from past epidemics shows that gender-based inequalities affects 
both women and men´s health, economic status, security and safety in different ways.[v] 
Although statistics, for example, show that more men than women are affected by COVID-19, if 
the family is infected, it is the women who will play the double role of caring for men, children, 
elderly and themselves. Not only does this increase their vulnerability, but it also increases the 
burden of unpaid care and household chores in which women do 2.5 times more than men 
do.[9]With the outbreak of COVID-19 in South Sudan, the lockdown measures have resulted in 
the disruption of community activities and social gatherings (meetings, burials, funerals and 
weddings), general and tertiary education. Since the country was amidst of restoring peace and 

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IJO - INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH SCIENCES AND NURSING  

 ( ISSN: 2814-2098 )    
                                                                                                                         Dr. Angelina Bazugba * 

https://ijojournals.com/                                          Volume 07 || Issue 09|| September, 2024 || 

Uncovering the Gendered Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in South Sudan: What Resilience and Recovery measures are needed? 

 

tranquility, absence of such activities has not only slowed down the social cohesion and 
reconciliation programmes, stirred up insecurity, bitterness, rampant attacks and rebellion as a 
consequence of economic hardship among communities.  

There is an increased need for home-based care of patients and children following the school 
closures, making women run the risk of losing their jobs and get less paid than before. It 
aggravates gender gap in employment as women are predominantly employed in informal sectors 
which are largely on part-time basis or few working hours.  

The COVID-19 crisis has aggravated the sufferings of people in South Sudan who were already 
negatively impacted by the civil conflicts.[10]While it is difficult to assess the toll of the pandemic 
or determine the costs of health services and the scope of the coverage, given limited testing 
capacity and the size of population that is still outside in refugee camps or in IDP centres, 
statistics from the Ministry of Health stated earlier has indicated the current status.[11]The 
pandemic has disrupted movement within and outside the country and thus negatively impacted 
on economic activities most of which were depending on in-country and cross-border supply of 
food produces, and goods and services. The limited availability has resulted into hiking of prices, 
constrained access to basic services including the health and education system, access to justice, 
humanitarian operations due to temporary suspension of activities and delays in the supply 
chains.[12]  

South Sudan like other low- and middle-income countries increasingly recognizes the pivotal 
importance of addressing gender equality and has been mainstreamed at various levels including 
the Peace Agreement (R-ARCSS) in an effort to contribute to the attainment of Sustainable 
Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Even though, women remain underrepresented across all 
sectors, and are disadvantaged in terms of access to healthcare and economic resources. 
Currently, one primary health center serves an average of 50,000 people. Only 40 percent of 
nutrition treatment centers have access to safe water, a gap that puts more vulnerable people, 
particularly women, boys and girls, at risk of malnutrition and disease. The life expectancy at 
birth for both sexes is 56.3 years. Despite improvements in some health outcomes, the majority 
of women (87%) deliver their babies at home. Only about one in five childbirths involves a 
skilled health care worker.[13]Family planning uptake is low (contraceptive prevalence rate is 
4.5% for all methods and 1.7% for modern methods).[vi] 

There are also considerable gender differentials in terms of gender rights, access to human rights 
and access to justice. Women and girls are particularly vulnerable to conflict-related sexual and 
gender-based violence. Women, girls, and children make up the majority of IDPs and are in 
desperate need of humanitarian assistance.[vii]Although the mean HIV prevalence rate was 3% in 
2012, statistics show that 56.9% new HIV/AIDS infections is amongst adolescent and youth 
aged 10-34 years with women and girls constituting 64% of the most affected group.[14]This rate 
is expected to increase due to the low levels of awareness on HIV/AIDS and prevailing high-risk 
behaviors such as multiple concurrent sexual partners, polygamy, non-use of condom, and other 
factors such as low school enrolment and poverty.[viii] 

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IJO - INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH SCIENCES AND NURSING  

 ( ISSN: 2814-2098 )    
                                                                                                                         Dr. Angelina Bazugba * 

https://ijojournals.com/                                          Volume 07 || Issue 09|| September, 2024 || 

Uncovering the Gendered Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in South Sudan: What Resilience and Recovery measures are needed? 

 

Correspondingly, gender inequality and Sexual Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) are widespread 
and mostly intensified by cultural norms and insecurity caused by interstate and intra communal 
conflicts. The 2019 GBV Information Management System data analysis indicates that 54% of 
the reported incidents were perpetrated by intimate partners.[ix] If cases of intimate partner 
violence (IPV) were pervasive before the emergence of COVID-19, it is anticipated that there 
will be an increased trend of similar cases with self-isolation and other stay-at-home measures. 
UNFPA South Sudan report (2020) shows an increase in the reported incidents of physical 
assault in the first three months of 2020 following the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic.[x] In 
comparison to the reports of the same period in 2019, there is an increase of eight per cent of 
Sexual and Gender Based Violence cases in 2020. Specifically, those in abusive relationships are 
disproportionately affected due to the time spent in close contact with the abusers. It is also 
anticipated that at this time, women would also have less contact with the family members and 
friends who, under normal circumstances, would be able to provide support and protection in the 
face of any violence.  

Sexual exploitation and abuse, especially among girls forced to be out of school due to dowry 
and COVID-19 is also anticipated to increase during the lockdown in view of the past practices. 
There remains high rate of teenage pregnancies (300/1,000 for girls aged 15-19), attributable to 
high rate of child marriage in which 40% of girls are married off under 18 years. With the 
closure of schools, cases of forced marriages and rape have been reported to be on the 
increase.[xi] Still, most remain underreported due to inadequate information on referral pathway, 
fear of revenge from perpetrators, stigma surrounding sexual violence and possible HIV/AIDS 
transmissions.  The existing vulnerabilities of women and girls are anticipated to further multiply 
and pre-dispose them to serious implications that go beyond the COVID-19 time.  

In terms of water, sanitation and health (WASH) facilities, long distance to schools and extra 
burden from domestic chores especially for adolescent girls, result into high school dropout rate. 
A large part of the South Sudan population is semi-nomadic and this prevents them from 
attending formal schooling. With the emergency of COVID-19, the water usages per household 
and in business places is likely to have increased. Due to economic hardship, basic hygiene and 
menstruation items could be unlikely prioritized thus, putting most women and girls in a 
disadvantaged position. 

Why gender and socio-economic impact assessment of COVID-19 in South Sudan? 

While it can be argued that the COVID-19 pandemic has presented an opportunity for the 
countries in the region to self-examine their fiscal, economic-policy priorities and build health 
sectors, the COVID-19 irrefutably, has imposed heavy human, financial, economic, and social 
costs.  The pandemic has impacted South Sudanese citizens’ lives, disrupted socio-economic 
development activities and implementation of the peace agreement.[15]Consequently, there is 
increased poverty, street begging, armed robberies, social devastation and non-compliance and 
negligence of COVID- 19 policies and guidelines. Overall, households are under significant 
strain due to loss of income especially as the majority of those employed in informal sectors 

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IJO - INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH SCIENCES AND NURSING  

 ( ISSN: 2814-2098 )    
                                                                                                                         Dr. Angelina Bazugba * 

https://ijojournals.com/                                          Volume 07 || Issue 09|| September, 2024 || 

Uncovering the Gendered Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in South Sudan: What Resilience and Recovery measures are needed? 

 

were sent home or lost their jobs. For female heads of households, the lack of alternative 
livelihood opportunities aggravated their families’ sufferings and poverty.  

Moreover, the closure of businesses also triggered price hikes for food, medicines, essential 
household commodities and public transport fares and increased crime rate and insecurity at 
night. Even though the UoJ and UNDP (2020) study revealed that 68% of the population were 
aware of the disease, absence of alternative sources of livelihood suggest that it would be 
difficult for women to observe the regulations and therefore becoming vulnerable to the disease. 
Women, being the majority and the primary caregivers at home for sick and wounded, to the 
elderly and children especially after school closures, as well as front liners in hospital, hospitality 
industry and in markets/informal sectors, are the most predisposed to COVID-19 and other 
infectious diseases than their male counterparts. At the same time, family care roles/child-rearing 
responsibilities undercut opportunities and time available for women to engage in livelihoods 
and employment options. It is within that context that research was carried out to get an in-depth 
understanding of the gendered impact of COVID 19 pandemic upon women and girls.  

Materials and Methods 

The research employed both qualitative and quantitative methods involving household survey 
technique developed and used by the South Sudan National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). All state 

capitals, border towns and one administrative area were involved. Each town was stratified into 

blocks or administrative units in accordance with the NBS sampling frame. Then three (3) 
enumeration areas (EA) were randomly selected in which 50 households were drawn to make a 
sample of 150 households and 50 businesses. Face to face interviews using semi-structured 
questionnaires were held with five key informants from government departments and non-
governmental institutions (including the Ministries of Health; Water and Irrigation; Interior; 
Humanitarian and Disaster Management; Gender, Child and Social Welfare; Agriculture, 
Industry and the Chamber of Commerce, key organizations responsible for relief services 
including WHO and World Food Program me (WFP). The selection was based on their 
significant roles and services the agencies provide in the communities.[16]The study included a 
rapid market survey to assess the supply chains and existing prices of food items, cooking energy 
and the transport fares which had significantly increased during the lockdown. A total of 1050 
respondents and business owners were involved in the study. A data collection tool, Kobo 
Collect, was used to support the CAPI/Tablets online questionnaire administration. The data was 
then subjected to descriptive statistical analysis using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences 
(SPSS) software. 
 

Results of Gender Analysis and Policy Implications 

To understand the gendered impact of COVID-19, the following section analyses the 
demographic features, education, social status, occupation of respondents, coping strategies and 
consequences. 

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IJO - INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH SCIENCES AND NURSING  

 ( ISSN: 2814-2098 )    
                                                                                                                         Dr. Angelina Bazugba * 

https://ijojournals.com/                                          Volume 07 || Issue 09|| September, 2024 || 

Uncovering the Gendered Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in South Sudan: What Resilience and Recovery measures are needed? 

 

Demographic features  

Of the interviewed population, 57 percent of the household heads were between 25-44 years old 
while 81 percent of the households aged less than 25 years were female. Few respondents (5 
percent) are more than 64 years old. While WHO (2020) reports indicate that elderly persons are 
more susceptible to COVID-19 
infection, the risk of succumbing to 
disease increases among young 
people in the presence of 
underlying conditions such as 
cardiovascular disease, diabetes, 
tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS whose 
prevalence rate is 3 
percent.[17]Statistics show that 
56.9% new HIV/AIDS infection is 
amongst adolescent and youth aged 
10-34 years in which women and 
girls constitute 64% of the most affected group. Almost 100 percent of the female heads of 
household under 25 years were either single, divorced, separated or widow.  

More women 74 percent compared to men 26 percent had no basic school education or dropped 
out of school.  Higher rates of illiteracy were observed in the northern states like Northern Bahr 
el Ghazal state, Lakes state and Upper Nile compared to the Equatoria region which is bordering 
Kenya and Uganda. (Fig 2). 
Whereas, the school 
enrollment rate is almost the 
same for girls and boys, 
findings indicate that the 
drop-out rate is higher among 
girls due to negative customs 
and practices that include 
child marriages, early 
pregnancies and economic 
hardship.[18] As a 
consequence, the number of 
girls enrolled in secondary 
schools, technical/vocational institutes and University continues to be low. For instance, Akec 
(2021) found that there are 38,746 students enrolled in 14 institutions of higher education, of 
whom females constitute 26%.[19]In the field of STEM, there were only 3,000 (24%) female out 
of 13,000 students enrolled. High illiteracy level among women increases their exposure and risk 
to COVID-19 infections due to limited knowledge and ability to access and synthesize 
information. Although information has been disseminated through mobile networks, radio, TV 
and posters, translation of radio programmes and TV messages to local languages is vital to 

Fig 1: Distribution of households by gender and age 

74

26

60

40 44
56

16

84

21

79

0

20

40

60

80

100

F M F M F M F M F M

N
u

m
b

er
 o

f 
p

er
so

n
s

Fig 2:           Percentage distributions of household heads by 
education level and gender

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IJO - INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH SCIENCES AND NURSING  

 ( ISSN: 2814-2098 )    
                                                                                                                         Dr. Angelina Bazugba * 

https://ijojournals.com/                                          Volume 07 || Issue 09|| September, 2024 || 

Uncovering the Gendered Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in South Sudan: What Resilience and Recovery measures are needed? 

 

reach out more women and girls. This is because 32 percent of household heads do not own 
mobile phones and out of these 61 percent are females.  

The study shows that 53 percent of the households were headed by female and there was 
increased care burden and economic downturn in response to policy measures established. 
Women make up the majority of care providers in health and social sectors. The increased brunt 
of unpaid care work is in line with findings from ILO (2018) that shows globally, women 
perform 76.2 percent of total hours of unpaid care work, more than three times as much as 
men.[20]With the outbreak of COVID-19, the need to care for patients at home and care for 
children following the closure of schools and learning institutions have increased the burden on 
women and girls. For example, while not all diseases are associated with COVID-19, the study 
found that 2 out of every 5 households visited had at least one sick person over the past 2 weeks. 
As part of preventive measures, most hospitals do not admit patients unless otherwise the person 
is in critical condition. Even though women and men have different exposure to COVID-19, they 
are at high risk of contracting COVID-19 due to their roles as primary care givers, nurses, 
housekeepers, waitress, cleaners and food vendors. Specifically, those involved in domestic care, 
government and private hospitals and clinics face higher likelihood of exposure to coronavirus 
and fatigue due to long working hours with minimal pay or delayed salaries.  

The gendered impact of COVID-19 on education 

Following the closure 
of learning 
institutions in March 
2020, many pupils 
and students found 
themselves at homes, 
contrary to their 
parents’ expectations. 
The country was 
caught by surprise and 
unprepared to embark 
on online teaching. 
Neither could parents 
keep their children engaged with learning activities. In the absence of improved technology and 
affordable internet services, most students particularly boys were idle at home with more time 
spent on playing, watching TV or visiting their friends. Girls in particular, (100 percent) were 
supporting their families with household chores, cooking and caring for the young ones, while 
others supported family businesses and income generating activities. Only 17 percent of the 
children were found studying, out of which 15 percent were girls and85 percent boys. 
Proportionately more boys were found to be idle at home. The ministry of education could have 
developed programmes to be taught through media, social media or online to keep pupils 
engaged. 

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys

Fig 3:   The distribution of boys and girls by activities after closure of 
schools

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IJO - INTERNATIONAL JOURNA

 ( ISSN: 2814-2098 )    
                                                                              

https://ijojournals.com/                

Uncovering the Gendered Impact of COVID

Poverty and inadequate access to 

Prolonged conflict and climatic shocks in South Sudan, have increased 
dependency and poverty from 51% in 2009 to 82% 
populated with an average number of 
respectively. In the Protection of Civilians sites (P
of internally displaced persons sharing
setting. On average, women heads of households have limited ownership and inadequate housing 
space compared to men heads of 
facilities that might expose them to infections. 
populated/crowded households, t
remains a daunting task as sharing of 
bathrooms and bedrooms is a common practice
and treatment of patients endure,
have inadequate skills on prevention and 

Generally, 98.77 percent of respondents are aware of the COVID
encouraged to seek medical assistance in case of any symptoms.
households involved in the study had 
could not visit a clinic or go to the hospital
percent), fear of contracting COVID
percent), no functioning health facilities (1.3 percent) and 
and Wanjok, the towns with active cross border businesses had the 
persons (40 percent) who did not visit any health facilities
could potentially undercut the ability to detect and identify cases of COVID
to increased community transmission. 

On the other hand, absence of resou
pay for medical bills. Financial constraints, delays in vaccine transportation
reported to interrupt service delivery to w

The distribution of household heads by gender and the hours spent at home per day during 
official working hours 

Neither has attention been 
paid to the Ministry of 
Health’s guidelines that 
include staying at home (Fig 
4), social distancing and 
wearing of masks. Seemingly, 
the stay at home preventative 
measureis less observed by 
most families whose work is 
from ‘hand to mouth’ 

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH SCIENCES AND NURSING 
                                                                                                                         Dr. Angelina Bazugba

                                          Volume 07 || Issue 09|| September

Uncovering the Gendered Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in South Sudan: What Resilience and Recovery measures are needed?

 

access to basic health services 

shocks in South Sudan, have increased rate of unemployment
51% in 2009 to 82% in 2016.[xii]Most households are

average number of 10 and 5 persons per households in urban and rural areas 
rotection of Civilians sites (POCs) in Juba, Bentiu and Malakal, the number 

sharing tents were more than what was observed in
setting. On average, women heads of households have limited ownership and inadequate housing 
space compared to men heads of households. Some of them live in poor structures with shared 
facilities that might expose them to infections. Maintaining social distance in dense

temporary shelters or home with poor housing in
task as sharing of public spaces and facilities like living room, 

and bedrooms is a common practice. In the absence of quarantine centers, home care 
, which increase care burden to women and girls

n prevention and handling patients with COVID-19 disease

Generally, 98.77 percent of respondents are aware of the COVID-19 pandemic and had been 
medical assistance in case of any symptoms. Yet, over 16.8 percent of the 

involved in the study had at least one sick person two weeks before the study, but 
could not visit a clinic or go to the hospital due to lack of money (70.4 percent), negligence(17 

COVID-19 while in the hospital (5.7 percent), lack of transport 
percent), no functioning health facilities (1.3 percent) and other reasons (3.1 percent

active cross border businesses had the highest number of sick 
who did not visit any health facilities. Inability to seek medical attention 

ability to detect and identify cases of COVID-19 in time resulting 
community transmission.  

On the other hand, absence of resources may hamper their ability to seek medical atte
. Financial constraints, delays in vaccine transportation and 

reported to interrupt service delivery to women/mothers and children. 

heads by gender and the hours spent at home per day during 

020406080

Female Male Female Male Female Male Female

Less than 2 hoursBetween 3 to 5 
hours

Between 6 to 8 
hours

Between 9 to 11 
hours

46.8853.1238.6561.3559.7140.2962.5337.47

Fig 4.         Number of hours stay at home segregated by 
gender 

AND NURSING  

Dr. Angelina Bazugba * 
9|| September, 2024 || 

t Resilience and Recovery measures are needed? 

unemployment, 
Most households are densely 

and rural areas 
in Juba, Bentiu and Malakal, the number 

tents were more than what was observed in the urban 
setting. On average, women heads of households have limited ownership and inadequate housing 

live in poor structures with shared 
Maintaining social distance in densely 

poor housing infra structures 
living room, kitchen, 

absence of quarantine centers, home care 
women and girls most of whom 

19 disease.  

19 pandemic and had been 
16.8 percent of the 

two weeks before the study, but 
lack of money (70.4 percent), negligence(17 

lack of transport (2.5 
3.1 percent). In Nzara 

highest number of sick 
Inability to seek medical attention 

in time resulting 

k medical attention or 
and delivery were 

heads by gender and the hours spent at home per day during 

Male

Between 9 to 11 
hours

37.47

Fig 4.         Number of hours stay at home segregated by 

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IJO - INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH SCIENCES AND NURSING  

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                                                                                                                         Dr. Angelina Bazugba * 

https://ijojournals.com/                                          Volume 07 || Issue 09|| September, 2024 || 

Uncovering the Gendered Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in South Sudan: What Resilience and Recovery measures are needed? 

 

particularly in the absence of an alternative source of livelihood. The majority (35 percent) can 
stay home for 6 to 8 hours of which women make 60 percent. While it can be argued that going 
out is critical for sustenance of families whose main sources of livelihood were affected by 
COVID-19 measures, support and information on prevention and response ought to be provided 
to reduce risk of disease and community transmission. 

Perception, Norms and Practices against spread of COVID-19  

Difficult living conditions, prevalence of certain myths and beliefs were found to limit the 
containment measures and application of MOH guidelines and regulations. Over 67 percent of 
the households approved preventive measures taken by the government, but the rest had different 
opinions about the disease. The majority of respondents interviewed said that the COVID -19 is a 
global pandemic, some said it is 
foreign disease, while others 
stated that such disease cannot 
exist in South Sudan because of 
higher temperature. See Fig 5 

Meanwhile there are numerous 
social norms and practices that 
might contribute to the spread of 
COVID-19. These include the 
group gathering by the road side 
while playing cards (largely 
among men), handshake habit, 
overcrowded homes due to high dependence, gathering in tea places, churches, communal eating 
habits, gathering for marriage, funeral or watching sports and games, spitting, hugging, churches 
or religious groups gatherings, kissing and skepticism about existence of COVID-19 disease. 
Figure 6 shows the distribution of households by social norms and practices that could encourage 
the spread of COVID-19. 

[CATEGORY 
NAME]

[PERCENTAGE]

Foreign disease
20%

It is a real global 
disease

52%

No idea about it
6%

Fig 5:            Percentage distribution of household 
Perception about COVID-19 disease

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IJO - INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH SCIENCES AND NURSING  

 ( ISSN: 2814-2098 )    
                                                                                                                         Dr. Angelina Bazugba * 

https://ijojournals.com/                                          Volume 07 || Issue 09|| September, 2024 || 

Uncovering the Gendered Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in South Sudan: What Resilience and Recovery measures are needed? 

 

 

Access to and control of resources and alternative sources of income: Although women have 
been doing petty businesses, the lockdown measures have allowed them to venture into more 
micro enterprises to sustain their families. About 69 percent of women are operating in the 
market and along the roadsides by vending fruits, vegetables, porridge, tea, and take away food. 
The tea selling business is on a daily basis despite the announcement of COVID-19 measures. In 
the absence of salary payment for government workers, the burden of caring for households has 
almost shifted to women. About 92 percent of them are the main source of livelihood, thus 
making it almost impossible to stop their petty businesses. Such situation has been reported in 
other African countries for instance, Angola, Ethiopia and Zambia, where there is already an 
increase in inflation by at least 5 percent, mainly due to disruptions in the supply of food and 
energy, the bulk of which are imported.[21-22] 

In border towns, and across borders women were found selling vegetables, while the majority of 
men (99 percent) illegally cross borders to sell consumable goods such as sugar, sorghum, 
onions, oil, garlic and salt. The cross-border restrictions have increased prices of basic food 
commodities, limited movement and separated families whose children were studying in the 
neighboring countries. Moreover, the illegal border crossing without testing for COVID-19 puts 
the women at risk of contracting the virus. 

In terms of ownership of resources, findings indicate that about 83 percent off  male headed 
households do not own assets like buildings, shops or other businesses in which they can use as a 
collateral. Control and ownership of assets is a condition employed by financial institutions to 
lend women the money. Only, 60 percent of the respondents live in their own houses, 26.31 
percent live in rented houses and the rest live in either Protection of Civilians, IDP or in Refugee 
camps.  

5
6

7
8
8
8
8

9
9

10
11

11

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Kissing

Religious none believe in COVID-19

Hugging

Spitting

Group eating habit

Sport gathering such as wrestling and balls.

Marriages

Churches

Tea places

Overcrowding of houses due to high dependence

Handshake habit

Culture of gathering on the road side

Percentage of household heads

Fig 6:     Percentage distribution of households by the types of social norms and 
practices that could encourage the spread of COVID-19

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IJO - INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH SCIENCES AND NURSING  

 ( ISSN: 2814-2098 )    
                                                                                                                         Dr. Angelina Bazugba * 

https://ijojournals.com/                                          Volume 07 || Issue 09|| September, 2024 || 

Uncovering the Gendered Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in South Sudan: What Resilience and Recovery measures are needed? 

 

Increased Income Insecurity and dependency: The economic instability, retrenchment, 
closure of big businesses and some formal employment including schools and non-governmental 
organisations, have affected more than 52 percent of households. This is similar to most parts of 
the African continent, where the pandemic has triggered expansionary fiscal spending, doubling 
the already wide fiscal deficits, and its economic consequences has triggered expansionary fiscal 
policy responses across all categories of economies.[23]  

Most men who are the main breadwinners and female headed households whose living 
conditions were already worse due to prolonged conflict, have continued to experience suffering 
due to reduced household income per day to less than USD 1.70.[24]Findings further indicate that 
about 36 percent of the households have a monthly income of less than 5,000 SSP; and the 
majority (61 percent) of those families are headed by female. This amount is significantly low 
compared to the current cost of living and consumer prices.xiiiThe average daily expenditure per 
household in South Sudan is 979.00 SSP, an equivalent of 1.60 USD. Since the average number 
of persons in the household in South Sudan is eight, it suggests that each individual lives on 38 
cents per day. This figure is significantly low compared to the international poverty line of USD 
$1.90 per day purchasing power parity poverty line and is in line with what the National Bureau 
of Statistics and World Bank (2019) estimates indicating that 82% of the population lives below 
$1.90 per day. To cope with life, most households have embarked on small income generating 
activities which too, were impacted negatively by the stay at home and partial lockdown policies 
announced in April 2020; or sought more than one informal job and a few (42 percent) sought 
relief assistance or support from relatives and friends. 

Deteriorating food security for vulnerable and single-headed families: The COVID-19 and 
the difficult economic situation have increased the number of people who are unable to afford 
regular meals, a single meal or a balanced diet. To understand the magnitude of the problem, the 
survey explored the household needs, food items, water, cooking energy and access to market. 
Findings indicate that there is food insecurity among women which increases with age. Unlike 
older women, young women can venture into multiple income generating activities.[25-26]In male 
headed households, men had a role of searching and bring food home, while women and girls 
prepared and cooked the food. In case of food aid, women are responsible in collecting but 
distribution and decision-making on the usage is done by men who sometime sell the food in the 
market at higher prices. While it can be argued that the intention is to get money to meet other 
family obligations, the practice undercut the number of meals and nutrients uptake among 
women and children. Of the household reached, 53 percent afforded one meal per day between 
February and April 2020 while only 26 percent afforded two to three meals. Shortage of food 
and poor nutrition can easily predispose them to the COVID-19 infection. This finding is in line 
with UNOCHA (2020) showing that about half of the population were food insecure prior to the 
emergence of COVID-19.  States in dire need of food Aid include Northern and Western Bahr el 
Ghazal, Upper Nile state and Western Equatoria. Only 33 percent of households had food 
reserves that can last from two to four weeks. The extended lockdown might be detrimental and 
harmful particularly for children and women who are lactating.  

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IJO - INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH SCIENCES AND NURSING  

 ( ISSN: 2814-2098 )    
                                                                                                                         Dr. Angelina Bazugba * 

https://ijojournals.com/                                          Volume 07 || Issue 09|| September, 2024 || 

Uncovering the Gendered Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in South Sudan: What Resilience and Recovery measures are needed? 

 

Inadequate Water, Sanitation and Safety: The emergence of COVID-19 has increased the 
water usage by 50 percent making a household of 8 persons use at least 240 litters of water per 
day. Water is used for frequently washing of hands, clothes, drinking and cooking. Still the 
problem of availability and access to clean and safe water perseveres. More than 72 percent of 
households in the urban areas use water from water tanks, donkey carriers and boreholes. 
Specifically, in Juba Municipality, households depend on mobile water tanks (water tankers) as 
their main source of water supply. With increased usage and fuel, prices of water have also 
increased from 300 to 700 SSP per drum of 250 litters. With exceptional to Wau town where 
men and boys deliver water by using donkey carters, the burden of searching and fetching water 
is upon women and girls who also fetch water from boreholes or line up in long queues.  

Women and girls use about 80 percent of the household water (an average of 48 liters per 
person) for bathing, washing clothes, cleaning of utensils, cooking and drinking while men and 
boys use 20 percent of the household water (an average of 12 liters) per person each day, for 
bathing, washing clothes, and drinking. At the household level, women control the usage of 
water for domestic purposes, while men and local authorities control the water points and bore 
holes. There is increased cost of living as a result of increased prices of fuel, water and 
government taxes. Subsequently, care of patients, general hygiene including women’s menstrual 
hygiene is affected. In rural areas and in the PoC, over 85 percent of the respondents claimed that 
some water points, toilets and bathing facilities design and locations are less accessible, secured 
and unsafe for girls, women, people living with disability. Walking long distances and line up in 
long queues are likely to encounter sexual and gender-based violence as they become an easy 
target for sexual harassment particularly during late or night hours.  

Information dissemination and Knowledge gap: Generally, information about the COVID-19 
prevention and response has been disseminated widely. Findings show that over 70% of the 
population have received information about COVID-19 which was shared through mobile 
networks, radio, TV and posters. These medium of communication were effective but more 
timely, accurate and simplified messages on the disease is needed. Absence of information 
implies that women will remain ill prepared and inexperienced to join the campaign. 
Understanding the gender-differentiated impacts of disease outbreak is fundamental to creating 
effective, equitable policies and intervention mechanisms that will leave no one behind. Since 
social norms are already underplaying women’s presence in decision-making roles as well as 
from information channels, it is unlikely that the majority of women have adequate access to 
internet and advanced technology globally.  This has a direct impact on women´s ability to get 
informed, adapt to the COVID-19 crisis and take part in economic recovery programmes as 
noted elsewhere by UN Women.[2,28] 

Increased unemployment and Gender based violence: With increased responsibility of health 
care workers, only few women have been able to maintain their jobs.  The unpaid care work 
constitutes the main barrier to women’s participation in labor markets and is a key determinant 
of the lower quality of their employment compared to men. As noted elsewhere by ILO (2020) 
lack of employment and economic hardship can increase dependency, transactional sex and 
poverty which tend to disempower and subject women to sexual violence. For example, cases of 

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IJO - INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH SCIENCES AND NURSING  

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                                                                                                                         Dr. Angelina Bazugba * 

https://ijojournals.com/                                          Volume 07 || Issue 09|| September, 2024 || 

Uncovering the Gendered Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in South Sudan: What Resilience and Recovery measures are needed? 

 

sexual violence and vulnerability of women in South Sudan have been reported by UNFPA 
(2020) to be on the rise.[ix]The prolonged closure of schools has created idleness and child 
pregnancies among girls. Cases of gender-based violence and the weak support available to 
survivors before and during the lockdown period have been documented.[18, 24]This is in line with 
other countries in which statistics indicate that 90% of the recently reported cases of violence are 
related to the epidemic[26, 29,xiv] 

Findings from the study underline existence of fear and anxiety from the extended quarantine, as 
well as the economic strain put on many families, which may have significantly contributed to 
the increased violence and abuse. There remains an enabling environment in which women and 
girls are generally viewed as commodities. Such violence stem from the objectification of 
women and girls, which is deeply entrenched in the customs and culture of South Sudan society: 
the local political economy of “bride price.”Forced and underage marriages continue to be a 
hallmark of society, with more than 50 percent of girls married before the age of 18.[xv]This view 
of women and girls has also contributed to the development of a society in which violence 
against women is permeating and accountability is missing. Decades of conflict has intensified 
the already glaring gender inequalities and risks for women and girls. Yet, a culture of silence 
and limited reporting endure despite the existence of special protection units, one stop centers 
and mobile courts for survivors seeking formal justice instead of traditional courts.[xvi] 

Lack of gender disaggregated data: While the Ministry of Health has been providing data of 
men and women who have tested positive as well as those who have recovered, there is still a 
gap of gender-disaggregated information about the crisis and its health impacts, hampering 
appropriate interventions as they are designed based on assumptions rather than reality. Equally, 
it is yet to be established how many people are experiencing psychological effect or are 
traumatized as a result risk associated with home-based care and treatment of patients; and 
theeconomic impact of discontinuing working in the informal sector as a result of increased care 
work during the pandemic.    

Risk and Challenges 

The COVID-19 pandemic emerged at a critical point in time when South Sudan was 
implementing the revitalized peace agreement (R-ARCSS). While progress has been achieved in 
terms of formation of national and state governments, the lockdown and deviation of resources to 
humanitarian and relief work has dramatically slow down the dissemination of R-ARCSS and 
implementation of other chapters, constrain women’s movements, trade, and functioning of 
markets, leading to significant spillover effects. A relapse to conflict would reverse the gains 
made in economy recovery, exacerbate the macroeconomic policies and the humanitarian 
situation and increase domestic violence.[27, 28]South Sudan heavily relies on the oil sector which 
accounts for about 97 percent of total exports of goods and services, and 45 percent of nominal 
gross domestic product. There is a need to urgently invest in Agriculture and collect non-oil 
revenues which is more reliable.  

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                                                                                                                         Dr. Angelina Bazugba * 

https://ijojournals.com/                                          Volume 07 || Issue 09|| September, 2024 || 

Uncovering the Gendered Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in South Sudan: What Resilience and Recovery measures are needed? 

 

There is also fear of revenge/reprisals, the inevitable stigma associated with being known as a 
survivor of SGBV or COVID-19. Sensitization and more studies in this area are needed in order 
to assess the magnitude and support systems needed for survivors of domestic violence 
especially during the lock- down period. 

Conclusion and Recommendations 

The analysis has underlined the differential impact of COVID-19 upon women and men in terms 
lifestyle or health behavior, exposure and effects of COVID-19; and socio-economic and 
development activities. Overall, there has been significant inflation which includes food and 
basic energy prices, increased. Equally, exchange rates have fluctuated widely during the 
pandemic as the country is dependent on exports for internal use and revenue, and the exchange 
rate regimes in place. The increase in COVID-19 related health expenses, absence of 
unemployment benefits and tax cuts have affected the young economy which was already 
impacted by the internal conflict. Such economic changes have a differential impact on women 
and men, and since most women are employed in informal sectors, their socio-economic and 
productive fabrics sustaining societies are declining with time. Not only has the situation caused 
frustration, but has affected business and caused psychological problem. From the study, 
findings suggest that men are more likely to die of the virus than women, owing ostensibly to the 
biological and lifestyle factors such as smoking, drinking alcohol and other outdoor engagements 
that limit their time to stay at home. On the contrary, women spend more time at home because 
of their various roles and positions in the society as care givers, nurses, heads of households and 
domestic workers. Women fall predominantly in the self-employed/informal sectors. They have 
fewer assets, limited access to information and control and ownership of resources; and few 
alternative livelihood opportunities. Where houses are densely populated, women and girls are at 
risk of contracting the disease. In the absence of reliable sources of livelihoods, the general 
public is reluctant to observe the COVID-19 preparedness and response measures. 

In the light of the above analysis, the study recommends the following priorities:  

 Strict measures and testing should be undertaken at the border points. Although trans-
border infections have been largely contained, the country remains at risk given the 
porous borders between all surrounding countries.  

 Provide subsidies and control of sky rocketing prices: The increase in prices of goods and 
services have left households vulnerable and exposed without any safety net. Urgent 
support in terms of food distribution and relief to needed. 

 The government and partners should strengthen referral pathways and one stop centers 
for prevention and response of gender-based violence (GBV) to improve reporting and 
access of services to the survivors of domestic violence; 

 Facilitate the development of immediate community-based action plans prevention and 
response to COVID-19. Women should be included in decision-making processes; 

 Relax lockdown measures and enforce the use of protective gears and provision of 
financial support to small entrepreneurs to facilitate economic stabilization and recovery; 

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                                                                                                                         Dr. Angelina Bazugba * 

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Uncovering the Gendered Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in South Sudan: What Resilience and Recovery measures are needed? 

 

 Undertake mass testing and community awareness campaigns to transform behavioral 
changes.  

Acknowledgement 

The author wishes to acknowledge the NTLI at the University of Juba, the respondents from 
various institutions and UNDP -PaCC for financial support. 

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IJO - INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH SCIENCES AND NURSING  

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                                                                                                                         Dr. Angelina Bazugba * 

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Uncovering the Gendered Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in South Sudan: What Resilience and Recovery measures are needed? 

 

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19. Tiitmamer, N. and Awolich, A. (2020).  The COVID-19 Pandemic Vulnerability Factors 
in South Sudan. Policy Brief. Sudd Institute. Available from 
https://www.suddinstitute.org/assets/Publications/5ec35cdc23465_TheCOVIDPandemic
VulnerabilityFactorsInSouthSudan_Full.pdf Accessed 12/03/2021. 

20. UN Women (2020). The COVID –19, outbreak and Gender:  key advocacy points from 
Asia and Pacific. Available from https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/digital-
library/publications/2020/03/the-covid-19-outbreak-and-gender Accessed on 11/12/2021. 

21. UNDP (2020). Briefing Note: The Economic Impacts of Covid-19 And Gender 
Inequality. Recommendations for Policymakers. 

22. UNFPA (2021). Humanitarian Action 2021 Overview. Available from 
https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/PAGES-
UNFPA_HAO2021_Report_Updated_6_Dec.pdf Accessed on 12/03/2021  

23. United Nations (2020) Shared Responsibility, Global Solidarity: Responding to the socio-
economic impacts of COVID-19. Available from 
https://unsdg.un.org/sites/default/files/2020-03/SG-Report-Socio-Economic-Impact-of-
Covid19.pdf Accessed on 12/12/2020 

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http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/893571583937198098/South-Sudan-Economic-Update-Poverty-and-Vulnerability-in-a-Fragile-Environment
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/893571583937198098/South-Sudan-Economic-Update-Poverty-and-Vulnerability-in-a-Fragile-Environment
http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep25123
http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep25124
https://www.project.syndicate.org/
http://moh.gov.ss./covid-19.php
https://www.suddinstitute.org/assets/Publications/5ec35cdc23465_TheCOVIDPandemicVulnerabilityFactorsInSouthSudan_Full.pdf
https://www.suddinstitute.org/assets/Publications/5ec35cdc23465_TheCOVIDPandemicVulnerabilityFactorsInSouthSudan_Full.pdf
https://www.suddinstitute.org/assets/Publications/5ec35cdc23465_TheCOVIDPandemicVulnerabilityFactorsInSouthSudan_Full.pdf
https://www.suddinstitute.org/assets/Publications/5ec35cdc23465_TheCOVIDPandemicVulnerabilityFactorsInSouthSudan_Full.pdf
https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2020/03/the-covid-19-outbreak-and-gender
https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2020/03/the-covid-19-outbreak-and-gender
https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/PAGES-UNFPA_HAO2021_Report_Updated_6_Dec.pdf
https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/PAGES-UNFPA_HAO2021_Report_Updated_6_Dec.pdf
https://unsdg.un.org/sites/default/files/2020-03/SG-Report-Socio-Economic-Impact-of-Covid19.pdf
https://unsdg.un.org/sites/default/files/2020-03/SG-Report-Socio-Economic-Impact-of-Covid19.pdf


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Uncovering the Gendered Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in South Sudan: What Resilience and Recovery measures are needed? 

 

24. United Nations Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) (2019). 
South Sudan Situation Report, September 16, 2019. Available from 
https://reliefweb.int/report/south-sudan/south-sudan-situation-report-16-september-2019. 
Accessed 14/03/2021 

25. WHO (2019). Annual Report WHO in South Sudan. Available from 
https://www.afro.who.int/sites/default/files/2020-
09/WHO%20South%20Sudan%20Annual%20Report%202019.pdf Accessed on 
20/12/2020  

26. WHO (2020). Novel Coronavirus (2019-Ncov) Situation Report-1, 21 January 2020. 
Available from https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-
reports/20200121-sitrep-1-2019-ncov.pdf?sfvrsn=20a99c10_4  Accessed on 31st March 
2020.   

27. WIPC and MGCSW (2020). Compiled Report on Women, Peace and Security Training 
for the Gender Focal Persons in line Ministries and Commissions, August 10th-15th 2020 
and September 21st-25th 2020. Held at Royal Palace Hotel, Juba, South Sudan under 
Technical Assistance from African Women’s Development Fund (Awdf). 

28. Women Enabled International (2020). COVID-19 at the Intersection of Gender and 
Disability: Findings of a Global Human Rights Survey. Available from 
https://womenenabled.org/pdfs/Women%20Enabled%20International%20COVID-
19%20at%20the%20Intersection%20of%20Gender%20and%20Disability%20May%202
020%20Final.pdf. Accessed on 18/12/2021. 

29. World Bank (2020). South Sudan Economic Update: Peace Agreement Spurs Economic 
Recovery, but Poverty Remains. April 2020 Issue: Juba, South Sudan. Available from 
https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/southsudan/publication/south-sudan-economic-
update-peace-agreement-spurs-economic-recovery-but-poverty-remains Accessed 
06/04/2021. 
 

                                                           
i
 National Bureau of Statistics, World Bank projections (2019 – 2021); Poverty: World Bank projections, 2019. 
ii
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/od.html; 

http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/southsudan/overview ; http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/south-sudan-
population/ ; http://countrymeters.info/en/South_Sudan; https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/south-
sudan 
iii
 See for example Guarcello S., Lyon F. and Rosati (2011) Labour market in South Sudan Country Report December 2011, 

Understanding Children’s Work (UCW) Programme, http://www.ucw-
project.org/attachment/30052016798Labour_market_in_South_Sudan.pdf 
iv

 The World Bank. South Sudan Country Overview. Oct. 16"', 2019. 
https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/southsudan/overview13 ILO 2019 in HOR 2019 UNDP. 
http://hdr.undp.org/en/indicators/43006 

v
 UNDP (2020) UNDP COVID-19 Response, Gender offer for gender equitable response and recovery. 
vi

South Sudan health data http://web.worldbank.org 
vii

South Sudan Gender Analysis: A snapshot situation analysis of the differential impact of the humanitarian crisis on women, 
girls, men and boys in South Sudan - South Sudan | ReliefWeb 
viii

Information available from: http://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/featurestories/2018/june/south-sudan-raising-
the-profile-of-hiv-in-humanitarian-contexts 
ix
 UNFPA (2021). Humanitarian Action 2021 Overview Available from https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-

pdf/PAGES-UNFPA_HAO2021_Report_Updated_6_Dec.pdf Accessed 12/09/2021 

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https://reliefweb.int/report/south-sudan/south-sudan-situation-report-16-september-2019. Accessed 14/03/2021
https://reliefweb.int/report/south-sudan/south-sudan-situation-report-16-september-2019. Accessed 14/03/2021
https://www.afro.who.int/sites/default/files/2020-09/WHO South Sudan Annual Report 2019.pdf
https://www.afro.who.int/sites/default/files/2020-09/WHO South Sudan Annual Report 2019.pdf
https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200121-sitrep-1-2019-ncov.pdf?sfvrsn=20a99c10_4
https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200121-sitrep-1-2019-ncov.pdf?sfvrsn=20a99c10_4
https://womenenabled.org/pdfs/Women Enabled International COVID-19 at the Intersection of Gender and Disability May 2020 Final.pdf
https://womenenabled.org/pdfs/Women Enabled International COVID-19 at the Intersection of Gender and Disability May 2020 Final.pdf
https://womenenabled.org/pdfs/Women Enabled International COVID-19 at the Intersection of Gender and Disability May 2020 Final.pdf
https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/southsudan/publication/south-sudan-economic-update-peace-agreement-spurs-economic-recovery-but-poverty-remains
https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/southsudan/publication/south-sudan-economic-update-peace-agreement-spurs-economic-recovery-but-poverty-remains


IJO - INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH SCIENCES AND NURSING  

 ( ISSN: 2814-2098 )    
                                                                                                                         Dr. Angelina Bazugba * 

https://ijojournals.com/                                          Volume 07 || Issue 09|| September, 2024 || 

Uncovering the Gendered Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in South Sudan: What Resilience and Recovery measures are needed? 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                           
x
 See also UNFPA (2020) Safety elusive for women in South Sudan’s protection sites amid pandemic.  Available from 

https://www.friendsofunfpa.org/safety-elusive-for-women-in-south-sudans-protection-sites-amid-
pandemic/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwi7yCBhDJARIsAMWFScP6FnCYM_C2gVkZP5AMlY9koZatUnElcoNyvbOPsDpkgbIDybnaVQsaAiUTEALw
_wcB 
xi
 Unknown Gunmen Rape 125 Women in South Sudan: Aid Agency,” Reuters, November 30, 2018, 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southsudan-violence/unknown-gunmen-rape-125-women-in-south-sudan-aid-agency-
idUSKCN1NZ24D;  “Statement on the Situation in Bentiu, South Sudan,” OCHA, UNICEF, and UNFPA, December 3, 2018, 
https://www.unfpa.org/press/statement-situation-bentiu-south-sudan;  Nick Cumming-Bruce, “Sexual Violence on the Rise in 
South Sudan, U.N. Says,” The New York Times, February 15, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/15/world/africa/south-
sudan-rape-sexual-violence.html. 
xii

https://blogs.worldbank.org/africacan/how-conflict-and-economic-crises-exacerbate-poverty-in-south Sudan 
xiii

 The amount of SSP 5,000 as of 5
th

 April 2021 is equivalent to USD $ 8.2 by using the black market exchange rate of $1= 
610SSP 
xiv

 UNMISS, Survivors of Sexual Violence in South Sudan Struggle to Access Health Care, 19 May 2020, 
https://unmiss.unmissions.org/survivors-sexual-violence-south-sudan-struggle-access-health-care. 
xv

 See also : Luedke, “The Commodification of Women and Girls in South Sudan ; South Sudan,” Girls Not Brides, 
https://www.girlsnotbrides.org/child-marriage/south-sudan/; UNFPA and MGCSW -Joint Statement Call for action to end 
gender-based violence and impunity for GBV perpetrators in South Sudan (July 2020).  
xvi

 MGCSW (2017) Progress report on the implementation of the UNSCR 1325 on Women Peace and Security in East and 
Southern Africa: South Sudan Country Report, July 2017;   
WIPC (2020) validation workshop report on what South Sudan has achieved after the 20 years of the implementation of the 
UNSCR 1325 (2000) globally. Prepared by WIPC and Q&A Consultancy Firm, presented on 26

th
 of November 2020 at Quality 

hotel, Juba.  

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