Paper details

Paper authors	Briony Jones
In panel on	Data and Displacement: Data Justice in Humanitarian Targeting
Paper presenter(s) will be presenting	In-Person / Online

Abstract

South Sudan is in the middle of a huge humanitarian crisis after the 2013 and 2016 armed conflicts, and the continual surges in local level conflicts since 2010. Humanitarian aid remains the only way to sustain those who fled their homes and those in search of secure spots at the UN Bases in Juba, Malakal, Bentiu, Wau and Bor, also known as the Protection of Civilian Sites (POCs) and in some relatively peaceful spots across the country. This paper draws on data collected from interviews with internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Juba POC in April and May 2021. It examines the role of humanitarian aid in meeting the massive needs of the IDPs amidst funding gaps, and specifically how humanitarian aid agencies gather data on the IDPs while distributing aid. The findings so far point towards a disconnect between the data which is collected and the ongoing articulation of needs by the IDPs. We explore this through the lens of data as a ‘communicative act’ bringing into focus questions of feedback, informed consent, data accuracy, and modes of exchange. Existing IDP vulnerability, humanitarian aid fatigue and shortages all point towards the importance of improving the situation in Juba, as well as other POCs. One way to do so is to rethink data gathering and understand it as a communicative as well as instrumental requirement.

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