Ethiopia

Allocation	$3,000,000
Emergency type	Refugees
Window	Rapid Response
Recipient UN Agencies	UNHCR, WFP
Group(s) of people targeted	Host communities, Refugees
Number of people targeted	63,786
Status	Under Implementation
Allocation code	CERF-ETH-25-RR-1473
Title	CERF Rapid Response: Ethiopia 2025 (Refugees from South Sudan)

Overview of the humanitarian situation

Since mid-February 2025, escalating violence and political instability in South Sudan—particularly in Nasir County, Upper Nile State—has forced people to flee to Ethiopia. Intense clashes between the South Sudan Peoples’ Defense Force and the White Army have resulted in large-scale displacement, with over 165,000 people fleeing their homes. Due to proximity to the conflict-affected areas, Ethiopia’s Gambella Region has received a significant share of this population movement. This has overwhelmed local response capacity, strained already limited resources, and prompted UNHCR to declare a Level 2 emergency in May 2025 covering both Ethiopia and Sudan. By early June 2025, approximately 50,000 South Sudanese refugees had crossed into Gambella, and more were arriving daily. Newly arrived refugees in Matar and Muon are living in extremely difficult conditions without access to adequate shelter, food, basic services, or protection.

CERF-funded assistance

In response to the growing humanitarian needs of newly arrived South Sudanese refugees and host communities, the Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) allocated CERF $3 million to provide urgent, lifesaving, multi-sectoral assistance to 60,000 people in overcrowded sites. The integrated response, delivered by UNHCR, WFP, UNICEF, WHO, and partners in coordination with the Government of Ethiopia, focuses on protection, health, nutrition, food, water, sanitation and hygiene, shelter and basic household items, and education. Key interventions include protection services such as registration, legal aid, prevention of gender-based violence, and psychosocial support; health and nutrition support through mobile clinics, cholera preparedness, emergency vaccinations, and malnutrition screening; food assistance for 50,000 refugees; WASH infrastructure including latrines, water trucking, and hygiene promotion; and shelter development with communal spaces, solar lighting, and essential site infrastructure. Education support will reach 10,000 children, while 10,000 households will receive NFI kits and clean cooking solutions to reduce environmental risks. CERF funding will stabilize conditions, prevent disease, protect vulnerable groups, and strengthen the capacity of national actors, while bridging critical gaps as additional donor support is mobilized.

Projects included in this allocation

Organization	Project title	Code	Amount in US$
UNHCR	Life-Saving Humanitarian Response for South Sudanese New Arrivals and Host Communities in Gambella	CERF-ETH-25-RR-HCR-36382	US$2,000,000	Read more
WFP	Emergency Food and Nutrition Assistance for South Sudanese New Asylum Seekers in Gambella Region, Ethiopia	CERF-ETH-25-RR-WFP-36383	US$1,000,000	Read more