A survey undertaken before the latest upsurge of violence in the South Sudan capital, Juba, has given one of the most complete insights yet into the gaps and needs around communication when humanitarians work with local populations. Among the recommendations that have emerged is that partnerships need to be developed between responders, the local population and existing South Sudan media outlets to improve the information flows when lives are at stake, that there could be more use of community radio stations and responders should gain more knowledge about how communities receive and share information.
The research was carried out as part of the CDAC Network’s Disaster and Emergencies Preparedness Programme (DEPP), which aims to improve the effective delivery of humanitarian assistance through improved two-way communication with disaster-affected populations. The program, which has pilot projects in Bangladesh and South Sudan, aims to generate crucial evidence around what are the best approaches for strengthening community engagement in the humanitarian sector during times of crisis to ultimately influence a sector-wide shift in practice.
The two countries represent contrasting disaster contexts – Bangladesh is particularly prone to frequent natural disasters, and South Sudan is experiencing protracted manmade conflict. Internews is the host of the DEPP in South Sudan, where it has convened, in collaboration with UNOCHA, a local communicating with communities (CwC) Working Group.
As part of the program and with the goal of generating crucial evidence around what are the best approaches for strengthening community engagement in the humanitarian sector during times of crisis to ultimately influence a sector-wide shift in practice, the DEPP team has undertaken a baseline study to look at how humanitarian organizations are communicating with communities and to provide practical and targeted recommendations on how to better engage communities in South Sudan.
Read the report: South Sudan Communication with Communities Gaps and Needs Analysis here