The African Relief and Development Foundation (ARDF) focuses on delivering a Basic Package of Health and Nutrition Services (BPHNS) through a strong Primary Health Care (PHC) approach. This ensures accessible, equitable, and community-centered health services for vulnerable populations.

ARDF integrates comprehensive nutrition interventions within its health programming by implementing Community-Based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM). Through this approach, children suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) are identified, treated, and monitored using nationally and internationally recognized guidelines. To strengthen the continuum of care, ARDF also supports secondary-level health services, with a particular focus on improving the capacity and service delivery of Malakal Teaching Hospital. This includes infrastructure support, medical supplies, and workforce development.

A key pillar of ARDF’s work is capacity building. The organization continuously trains and mentors health workers to enhance their ability to deliver high-quality, integrated health and nutrition services, ensuring better patient outcomes.

To reach underserved and hard-to-access communities, ARDF deploys mobile clinics staffed with qualified health professionals and equipped with essential medicines and supplies. These mobile teams bring lifesaving services directly to populations with limited or no access to fixed health facilities.

In addition, ARDF strengthens the community health system by working with Boma Health Workers (BHWs). These frontline workers are trained and equipped with essential drugs and screening tools to diagnose and treat common childhood illnesses among children aged 2–59 months, including:

• • Malaria
• • Pneumonia
• • Diarrhea

Through this integrated, multi-level approach, ARDF ensures that life-saving health and nutrition services reach even the most remote and vulnerable populations, contributing to improved health outcomes and community resilience.

Ending Violence Against Women and Girls in South Sudan

Violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread, persistent, and devastating human rights violations globally. In South Sudan, the crisis is particularly severe.

An estimated 2.7 million people are at risk of Gender-Based Violence (GBV), driven by prolonged conflict, entrenched harmful social norms, and economic instability. Approximately 65% of women and girls have experienced physical or sexual violence, including conflict-related sexual violence, forced and child marriage, and intimate partner violence.

These challenges are further intensified by weak legal systems and widespread impunity, leaving survivors without justice or protection.

Together, we can protect, empower, and create safer communities.

Key GBV Issues in South Sudan

1) Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV)

Armed groups and soldiers continue to use rape, gang rape, and sexual slavery as weapons of war. High incidences have been documented in regions such as Western Equatoria and Unity State, leaving deep physical and psychological scars on survivors.

2) Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)

More than half of women have experienced violence from an intimate partner. In many communities, such abuse is normalized and accepted, making prevention and reporting extremely difficult.

3) Child and Forced Marriage

High bride prices often turn marriage into an economic transaction, where girls are treated as commodities. This practice fuels child marriage, limits education opportunities, and perpetuates cycles of poverty and inequality.

4) Humanitarian Protection Crisis

Ongoing displacement and food insecurity force women and girls to travel long distances for water, firewood, and aid, exposing them to heightened risks of violence and exploitation.

5) Deep-Rooted Cultural Norms

Discriminatory beliefs and practices continue to undervalue women and girls, sometimes making it difficult for communities to even recognize sexual violence as a crime.

Our Response

• • Prevention: Raising awareness and challenging harmful norms
• • Risk Mitigation: Strengthening community protection systems
• • Response Services: Supporting survivors with care, protection, and referrals
• • SRHR Integration: Promoting and protecting Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)

By working directly with communities, ARDF aims to restore dignity, empower survivors, and build safer environments for women and girls across South Sudan.

Building Resilience. Transforming Lives

Climate change continues to pose serious challenges in South Sudan, particularly in Upper Nile, Northern Bahr El Ghazal, and Central and Eastern Equatoria States. Communities are facing recurrent droughts, floods, and unpredictable rainfall, threatening agriculture, food systems, and livelihoods. Smallholder farmers, especially women, are the most affected. Limited access to resources, markets, and financial services, combined with systemic gender inequalities, restricts their ability to adapt and thrive. As a result, poverty, food insecurity, and local conflicts remain widespread.

Why Women Matter to ARDF

Women are the backbone of rural agriculture, yet they face:

• • Limited access to land, finance, and markets
• • Heavy unpaid care responsibilities
• • Barriers to economic participation

Without targeted support, their potential to drive sustainable development remains untapped.

ARDF empowers smallholder farmers (at least 50% women) by strengthening:

• • Agricultural value chains
• • Food systems
• • Climate-smart agriculture practices
• • Livelihoods and employability opportunities

<4>What We Focus On

Women’s Empowerment & Gender Equality

• • Reducing barriers to women’s participation in agriculture
• • Addressing unpaid care burdens
• • Promoting inclusive economic opportunities

Climate-Smart Agriculture

• • Increasing adoption of sustainable farming practices
• • Supporting women farmers with climate-resilient technologies

Youth Employment & Skills Development

• • Providing vocational and market-driven skills training
• • Supporting youth (50% women) with income opportunities

Financial Inclusion & Enterprise Growth

• • Establishing Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs)
• • Supporting micro and small enterprises (SMEs)
• • Improving access to savings, credit, and business opportunities

Sustainable Livelihoods & Job Creation

• • Supporting youth-led enterprises (including construction businesses)
• • Providing start-up capital, mentorship, and market linkages

Community Resilience & Infrastructure

• • Cash-for-work programs
• • Construction of housing and community assets

Social Cohesion & Sustainability

• • Continuous mentorship and business coaching
• • Strengthening community structures for peaceful coexistence

Building Resilient Communities in South Sudan

Communities across South Sudan face ongoing displacement, weak governance, and social divisions caused by prolonged conflict. Vulnerable groups—especially women and youth—remain excluded from decision-making and lack sustainable livelihoods, while unresolved trauma continues to fuel tensions. ARDF strengthens inclusive governance, promotes social cohesion, and supports the reintegration of conflict-affected populations through a humanitarian-development-peace nexus approach.

What We Do

1. Governance Strengthening

We establish inclusive Local Governance Forums (LGFs), support participatory planning, and promote climate-resilient community infrastructure through cash-for-work initiatives.

2. Social Cohesion & Peacebuilding

We facilitate peace dialogues, fund local peace initiatives, and deliver mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) through trained community volunteers.

3. Economic Reintegration & Protection

We empower vulnerable women and CRSV survivors with seed grants, business skills training, and ongoing psychosocial and protection support.

Our Goal

Stronger communities where people participate in governance, live peacefully, and rebuild sustainable livelihoods.

What We Do

Conflict Resolution

Building Resilient Communities in South Sudan

Across South Sudan, communities continue to face persistent challenges driven by displacement, weak local governance systems, and social fragmentation caused by prolonged intercommunal conflict. Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), returnees, ex-combatants, and other vulnerable groups, particularly women and youth, are often excluded from decision-making processes and lack access to sustainable livelihood opportunities. At the same time, unresolved trauma continues to deepen divisions and fuel tensions within communities.

ARDF works to address these challenges by strengthening inclusive local governance, promoting social cohesion, and supporting the sustainable reintegration of conflict-affected populations. Our approach is grounded in the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, ensuring that immediate needs are addressed while building long-term resilience and stability.

Our Key Areas of Intervention

1. Governance Strengthening

• • Establishing Local Governance Forums (LGFs) at the Payam level
• • Building the capacity of LGF members to effectively represent their communities
• • Supporting regular monthly LGF meetings
• • Conducting displacement-sensitive mapping
• • Developing Payam Area-Based Development Plans
• • Facilitating participatory and gender-responsive planning processes
• • Implementing cash-for-work initiatives to support climate-resilient community infrastructure

2. Social Cohesion and Peacebuilding

• • Facilitating peace dialogues and reconciliation processes
• • Supporting community-led peace initiatives through small grants programs
• • Promoting community cohesion activities
• • Training and deploying Psychosocial Community Volunteers (PCVs)
• • Delivering Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) services and trauma awareness

3. Economic Reintegration and Protection

• • Providing seed grants and start-up kits to CRSV survivors and vulnerable women
• • Supporting women associated with armed groups (WAAFAG) using a survivor-centered approach
• • Delivering livelihood and business skills training
• • Strengthening economic independence and protection mechanisms
• • Offering ongoing psychosocial support and case management services

Our Impact

Through integrated, community-driven interventions, ARDF is helping to:

• • Strengthen local governance and inclusive participation
• • Promote peaceful coexistence and social healing
• • Restore dignity and economic independence for vulnerable populations

Providing adequate Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) services remains a critical public health challenge globally. Access to safe and sufficient water, improved sanitation, and proper hygiene practices is essential for human health, dignity, well-being, and sustainable development.

The African Relief and Development Foundation is committed to ensuring that communities—no matter how remote or vulnerable—have access to these fundamental services. With hundreds of thousands of deaths each year linked to unsafe drinking water, poor sanitation, and inadequate hygiene, ARDF prioritizes the prevention of WASH-related diseases as a core component of its health interventions.

Our Key Focus Areas

ARDF’s WASH programming is centered on:

• • Improving access to reliable, safe, and clean water
• • Expanding and strengthening sanitation services
• • Promoting safe hygiene practices at household and community levels

Where We Work

ARDF implements WASH interventions across diverse settings, including:

• • Rural communities
• • Refugee and returnee settlements and camps
• • Internally Displaced People
• • Schools
• • Health facilities

Comprehensive Approach

ARDF operates across the full humanitarian-development nexus, responding at every stage of the disaster cycle:

• • Emergency response during crises
• • Recovery and rehabilitation phases
• • Long-term development programming

The organization actively responds to:

• • Disease outbreaks such as cholera, Hepatitis E, and Ebola
• • Natural disasters
• • Conflict-driven population displacement
• • Other complex humanitarian emergencies

Community Engagement and Sustainabilit

A central pillar of ARDF’s approach is community participation. The organization works closely with local communities and relevant authorities to design and implement sustainable, locally owned WASH solutions that ensure long-term impact.

When Disaster Strikes, Every Second Matters

We deliver rapid, lifesaving assistance to communities affected by conflict, climate disasters, and crises—ensuring no one is left behind in their darkest hour.

Emergency Response & Recovery is the immediate and coordinated action taken to save lives and meet urgent needs during crises. From the first hours of a disaster to long-term recovery, we stand with affected communities every step of the way.

Why Emergency Response Matters

Saving Lives Today. Securing Tomorrow.

The need for emergency response has never been greater. Extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and intensity, while conflicts continue to escalate—placing millions of people at risk. Emergency response is critical because it saves lives, restores dignity, and provides a pathway to recovery.

Despite growing risks, global progress shows that effective humanitarian action works. According to the World Meteorological Organization, deaths from natural disasters have declined significantly—not because disasters are less severe, but because response systems are faster, stronger, and better coordinated.

1. Immediate Response & Lifesaving Relief

• • Food assistance and therapeutic nutrition
• • Rapid medical care and mobile health services
• • Clean water and sanitation services
• • Emergency shelter and essential household items
• • Cash assistance for urgent needs

We act fast to save lives when every second counts. With experienced teams, pre-positioned supplies, and strong local partnerships, we deliver critical assistance immediately after disaster strikes.

We are often among the first responders, ensuring that affected communities receive support when they need it most.

2. Recovery & Rehabilitation

• • Supporting farmers to replant crops
• • Restoring access to clean water and healthcare
• • Rehabilitating livelihoods and local economies

This ensures that recovery continues long after the initial crisis response ends.

3. Disaster Risk Reduction & Preparedness

• • Early warning systems to monitor risks and trigger timely action
• • Emergency preparedness training for local responders
• • Evacuation planning and supply stockpiling
• • Climate adaptation initiatives to protect food and water systems

By investing in anticipatory action, communities can act before disasters fully unfold—reducing damage, protecting livelihoods, and saving more lives.

Our Impact

• • Thousands of families reached with emergency aid
• • Life-saving food and medical support delivered
• • Safe water provided in crisis-affected areas
• • Communities supported to recover and rebuild

Emergency Response & Recovery

South Sudan: A Nation Facing a Perfect Storm of Crises

South Sudan is facing a catastrophic and complex humanitarian crisis driven by persistent conflict, extreme flooding, and widespread food insecurity. These overlapping shocks have created a perfect storm, leaving millions without access to basic services and lifesaving support.

• • Over 7.5 million people are facing acute hunger
• • More than 2 million people are internally displaced
• • Ongoing violence, climate shocks, and disease outbreaks continue to escalate needs

Without urgent intervention, vulnerable communities remain at extreme risk of hunger, disease, and displacement.

Key Disaster Issues in South Sudan

1. Severe Flooding & Climate Change

Recurring, climate-driven flooding—especially in Jonglei, Unity, and Upper Nile—displaces hundreds of thousands of people each year. Homes, schools, and health facilities are submerged, cutting off access to essential services.

2. Conflict & Insecurity

Despite ceasefire efforts, violence continues through intercommunal clashes and armed conflict. This restricts humanitarian access, forces families to flee, and contributes to high levels of insecurity and loss of life.

3. Humanitarian & Food Crisis

Over 7.5 million people face severe food insecurity, with 28,000 at risk of famine conditions. The situation is worsened by the arrival of over 1.2 million refugees and returnees fleeing conflict in neighboring Sudan.

4. Health Emergencies

Damage to health infrastructure and lack of clean water have triggered disease outbreaks, including cholera. As of April 2026, thousands of cases and high fatality rates have been reported in affected regions.

5. Displacement & Protection Risks

Millions of people are displaced and living in overcrowded camps with poor sanitation. Protection risks are high, including gender-based violence, child protection concerns, and forced recruitment.

South Sudan faces a catastrophic, interlocking humanitarian crisis driven by persistent conflict, extreme flooding, and severe food insecurity. Over 7.5 million people face acute hunger, with widespread displacement affecting over 2 million internally. Ongoing violence, climate shocks, and disease outbreaks like cholera create a "perfect storm," severely restricting access to basic needs and aid.

Why Immediate Action Is Critical

South Sudan’s crisis is not driven by a single factor—it is the result of interconnected shocks that reinforce each other. Flooding destroys livelihoods, conflict prevents recovery, and hunger weakens resilience, leaving communities trapped in a cycle of vulnerability.

ARDF Emergency Response Strategies

• • Search and Rescue: locating and rescuing survivors after conflict or floods
• • Emergency Food Assistance: food kits, hot meals, ready-to-use-therapeutic food (RUTF) for malnourished children
• • Clean Water and Sanitation (WASH): trucking in water, repairing wells, distributing water purification tablets, and building latrines
• • Emergency Shelter: tents, tarps, blankets, or temporary housing
• • Emergency Health & Nutrition Services: mobile clinics, trauma care, vaccination, nutrition screening, treatment for severe acute malnutrition
• • Cash & Voucher Assistance: direct cash transfers so families can buy what they need locally, supporting both dignity and local markets
• • Protection and Psychosocial Support: child-friendly spaces, preventing gender-based violence, trauma counseling