Advancing Disability-Inclusive Humanitarian Programming and Coordination in South Sudan

Check out our latest publication on disability inclusion in humanitarian action in South Sudan. The report is based on field research by the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV) and examines both advances and ongoing gaps in incorporating disability-inclusive strategies into protection and coordination activities.

South Sudan’s humanitarian response unfolds amid protracted conflict, flooding, droughts, displacement, and limited resources. Humanitarian actors in South Sudan have made progress in recognizing disability as an important theme in both protection programming and coordination. International and local NGOs, alongside organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) and UN organizations, are adapting delivery modalities to embed disability inclusion, with disability-focused organizations leading improvements in physical accessibility and expanding rehabilitation and protection services. Meanwhile, the protection cluster and Inter-Cluster Coordination Group (ICCG) are integrating disability inclusion more systematically into coordination. Despite these encouraging trends, the systematic integration of the IASC Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action recommendations and its four ‘must-do’ actions has remained a work in progress. A grim funding outlook heightens the challenges. Although uneven progress has been made with fewer resources, advancing inclusion requires sustained investment in capacity and in adjusted delivery modalities.

Too often, disability is framed as an add-on rather than a cross-cutting priority; competing needs and limited budgets reinforce a narrative of constraint, and intersection with other concerns pushes disability to the margins of broader plans. Data gaps persist across clusters. Even when the Washington Group Short Set of Questions (WG-SS) is used to collect disability-inclusive data, analysis rarely disaggregates by gender, age, and type of functional difficulty, limiting targeted action—especially in hard-to-reach areas such as Pibor. Knowledge and capacity constraints compound this: while disability-focused organizations like Humanity & Inclusion (HI), Christian Blind Mission (CBM), Light for the World (LFTW), and the Voluntary Organization for International Co-operation (OVCI) are well-versed in the IASC Guidelines, many actors are not, due to high staff turnover and one-off trainings.

Meaningful participation remains aspirational. Persons with more easily visible impairments are somewhat better represented in consultations than those with hearing, psychosocial, intellectual, or multiple disabilities. All in all, persons with disabilities are frequently excluded—especially outside Juba—owing to stigma, weak outreach, limited accessible communication, and scarce reasonable accommodations.

Policy signals are mixed. Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and national policies provide a foundation, and both the ICCG and the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) endorse inclusion; however, weak interministerial coordination, limited budgets, and the lack of institutionalized OPD engagement limit impact. To move inclusion forward, actors should strengthen coordination; invest in capacity-building; secure sufficient funding; improve disability data disaggregation and analysis; and consistently consult persons with disabilities at all stages of the Humanitarian Programme Cycle, in line with the CRPD and IASC Guidelines.

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

Access the full report (PDF)

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), CBM 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 Federal Foreign Office.