Independent Review of the IPC South Sudan

The October/November 2020 Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis process in South Sudan broke down when the South Sudan IPC Technical Working Group (TWG) was unable to reach technical consensus on the severity of food insecurity in six critical counties. In response, and following a request from the Government of South Sudan (GoSS), the three IPC resource partners – United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (UK FCDO) and the European Union (EU) – commissioned this Independent Review. The Review’s primary purpose is to support the restoration of effective functioning and credibility of the IPC in South Sudan. It documents what happened, analyses the reasons for the breakdown in consensus, and recommends the way forward.

The Review was carried out by a team from HPG/ODI, drawing on a wide range of documentation, interviews with over 70 key informants and a consultation process with six key stakeholder groups on the preliminary findings and way forward, accompanied by a Reference Group comprising the main IPC stakeholder groups in South Sudan. As Covid-19 travel restrictions prevented travel to South Sudan, the Review was carried out remotely.