Advancing Disability Inclusion in Humanitarian Action: Insights from the South Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SSHF)

Have a look at our latest publication on disability inclusion in humanitarian action. It focuses on the South Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SSHF), a country-based pooled fund (CBPF).  

The report draws on the field research conducted by our research partner, the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV). It explains the functioning of the SSHF and examines both the progress made and the persistent gaps in integrating disability-inclusion approaches into its funding. 

This report presents the first study on disability inclusion in Country-Based Pooled Funds (CBPFs), focusing on the SSHF. Managed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), CBPFs are key multi-donor instruments that aim to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity according to country-level humanitarian priorities. Taking South Sudan’s chronic humanitarian crisis into account, this report provides key insights into how the SSHF works on and can promote inclusive and equitable humanitarian action. In particular it checks the degree to which the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines on the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action help the SSHF with promoting disability-inclusive humanitarian action. These Guidelines emphasize the rights, needs, and capacities of persons with disabilities and identify four must-do actions (MDA’s) to guide inclusive programming: promoting meaningful participation; removing barriers; empowerment and capacity development; and data disaggregation for monitoring inclusion. 

Using an exploratory, mixed-methods case study design, this research examines how and to which extent the SSHF applies the IASC Guidelines and their four MDAs at country level, and what factors support or impede the embedding and resourcing of disability inclusion. The report also explores the roles and strategies of key SSHF partners and stakeholders in this respect. It analyzes SSHF decision-making and management processes and concludes with practical recommendations to strengthen disability-inclusion. 

We invite readers whether practitioners, policymakers, or advocates—to further explore this report’s key findings, lessons learned, and recommendations for building more inclusive humanitarian responses:  

This publication is part of the project ‘phase 3-Leave No One Behind’, which was jointly implemented by Handicap International e.V.-Humanity & Inclusion (HI), Christoffel-Blindenmission/Christian Blind Mission e.V. (CBM), and the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV) at Ruhr University Bochum. Funded by the German Ferderal Foreign Office.