South Sudan: Mortality and Child Malnutrition in Maiwut County, Upper Nile State – March 2026

Country: South Sudan Source: REACH Initiative Please refer to the attached file. Key Messages • Acute malnutrition remained at a critical level in Maiwut, with a Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) prevalence of 15. 1% weight-for-height Z-score (WHZ), exceeding the World Health Organization (WHO) emergency threshold (15%). • Combined GAM reached 18. 1%, indicating a high burden of acute malnutrition among children aged 6–59 months. • Mortality indicators were below emergency thresholds, with a Crude Death Rate (CDR) of 0. 38 and an Under-Five Death Rate (U5DR) of 0. 40 deaths per 10, 000 per day. • Poor water and sanitation conditions persist, with two-thirds of households (68%) relying on unimproved sources of water, and 91% not treating the water, contributing to increased risk of disease and malnutrition. • Food insecurity was severe, with nearly 25% of households having poor food consumption score (FCS) and high reliance to emergency (46%) and crisis (40%) livelihood coping strategies. Context and Rationale Maiwut County is one of the counties classified under IPC AMN Phase 4 (Critical)1, with persistent food insecurity, poor WASH conditions, disease outbreaks, and limited humanitarian access contributing to high malnutrition risks. The county has experienced increased displacement linked to conflict, cross-border movements from Sudan, and recurrent flooding, further straining already fragile livelihoods and basic services. In response to the worsening humanitarian and nutrition crisis in Maiwut County, a survey was conducted to assess the current nutrition status of vulnerable populations. The objective was to support humanitarian planning, prioritize interventions, mobilize resources, and monitor the nutrition situation in the area. Between 16 and 24 March 2026, REACH Initiative and Relief International conducted a Standardized Monitoring and Assessment of Relief and Transitions (SMART) survey across 40 clusters to assess nutrition, mortality, health, WASH, and food security indicators among households in the County2, 3, 4. A total of 479 households and 507 children aged 6–59 months were assessed (94. 5% response rate). The survey achieved an overall plausibility score of 11%, indicating good data quality according to SMART classification criteria.

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