Children in South Sudan are born into a very unstable and fragile society. They are clearly the most vulnerable segment of population and need special care and protection.

Since South Sudan is a very young state, accurate orphan statistics do not yet exist. However, both Sudan and South Sudan taken together are home to around 2 million orphaned children. The vast majority of them have been orphaned as a result of extreme poverty, ethnic conflict and HIV/AIDS.

South Sudan’s education indicators remain among the worst in the world. It is estimated that more than one million children eligible for primary school do not have access to basic education, while the few schools that do exist are not conducive to learning. The humanitarian reality is multi-faceted.

Children in South Sudan continue to face multiple protection risks stemming from the impact of the armed conflict which ended in 2005. The long civil war has destroyed the social fabric of communities and has eroded the protective environment for children and young people creating conditions that expose them to high levels of violence including gender based violence, exploitation, abuse and deprivation.