A multi-agency UN assessment from 12–14 February 2026 documents escalating violence and displacement in Jonglei state, South Sudan, with pervasive conflict-related sexual violence, family separations, and alleged recruitment of adolescents by armed actors (OCHA/UN assessment, 12–14/02/2026).

Some 280,000 people have been displaced since December, health infrastructure has been attacked, including at least 16 facilities reported looted since late 2025, and disrupted maternity services risk preventable maternal and neonatal deaths, UNFPA warned in mid-February 2026. Survivors describe rape, abduction, and killings when victims resisted, while most adolescent girls lack awareness of protection services.

The humanitarian imperative is urgent: scaled protection, sexual and reproductive health care, child protection, and psychosocial support must accompany predictable food and shelter aid.

Accountability measures for perpetrators are essential to stem impunity; without them, cycles of gendered violence will calcify, compounding trauma and undermining fragile recovery (UN multi-agency assessment, 12–14/02/2026).

Sources: Multi-agency UN assessment, Jonglei, 12–14 February 2026; UNFPA and WHO situation updates, February 2026.