However, in response to the first eruption of violence in December 2013 and the new outbreak of the civil war in mid-2016, Germany readjusted its development cooperation with South Sudan so as to minimise direct contact with the government. As early as in 2006, the German government began to assist the southern part of Sudan through development cooperation. Cooperation with the Republic of the Sudan was suspended in 1989 because of the civil war. Germany has been engaged in development cooperation with Sudan since 1972.
The BMZ's work in the country focuses on food security and support for particularly vulnerable groups, such as women, children, refugees, internally displaced persons, and communities hosting large numbers of refugees. Ongoing projects have been adjusted so that measures that take effect comparatively rapidly can mitigate the acute impact of violence. Development cooperationĭue to the political situation, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development ( BMZ) has suspended its direct cooperation with the Government of South Sudan for the time being. There is a huge need for international assistance and for alleviating human suffering. An estimated 1.6 million people have been internally displaced, and some 2.3 million people are reported to have fled to neighbouring countries (as at January 2021). And the civil war has triggered one of Africa's biggest refugee crises. Over 4.5 million people are affected by food insecurity, in some cases extreme food insecurity. According to United Nations data, more than seven of the country's twelve million people are in need of humanitarian aid. However, the war has had severe consequences. Even if the peace process has only been progressing slowly, Sudan was able to take another important step towards peace in February 2020, when a transitional government was formed. The agreement was hoped to end the civil war in South Sudan, which began in 2013.
After years of civil war, South Sudan's President Salva Kiir Mayardit and former Vice President Riek Machar, who had returned from exile, signed a peace agreement in September 2018. The causes of the conflict are mainly rooted in the current unfair distribution of political power and economic resources, which has emerged over time and is based, in particular, on ethnic criteria. In 2011, South Sudan had declared its independence from the Republic of the Sudan.