The economic crisis in South Sudan is intensifying, exacerbating the mounting challenges faced by citizens and casting a particularly long shadow over the aspirations of young girls.
For many, the rising costs associated with education, including tuition fees, uniforms, notebooks, and course handouts, among others, have become insurmountable barriers. At home, the situation is equally dire. The scarcity of basic necessities like sanitary pads force many girls to make distressing choices that no child should have to consider.
Testimonials about the impact of economic hardships
Diana James, a 22-year-old student at Juba Commercial, shared her experiences regarding the impact of the current economic challenges on her life.
“The challenge I face is sometimes the lack of money for transport and money to buy notebooks and body lotions, and perfumes,” she says.
Diana who lives with her parents in Juba City’s Munuki suburb, says that despite receiving financial support from her mother, she has also started a small business to earn money to cater for her basic needs.
“The challenges that we are facing in South Sudan are great, and if you are a lady, you will be forced to do some small business to support yourself,” she states. “If you are not doing anything to earn some money, you need to get support from your parents. Without any support from parents, you will face more challenges.”
Stella Jacob, a 29-year-old student studying for a diploma in rural development at the University of Juba, shares similar sentiments, highlighting financial challenges as a significant obstacle for female students.
“There are a lot of economic challenges we as girls are going through. These include personal needs, as a girl, I need money to buy monthly requirements, especially sanitary pads,” she says.
Stella emphasizes the importance of providing financial assistance to young girls, especially those interested in pursuing education. Stella urged the government and organizations like UNICEF that operate in South Sudan to develop programs specifically aimed at supporting the girl child’s education.
“Girls have a lot of needs and one may need body lotions, perfumes, and pads,” she said. “My message goes to the government, companies, and organizations in the country to support young girls. I will appreciate it.”
For her part, Dina Doru, a first-year medical student at the University of Juba who lives with her mother, who pays her tuition, revealed that she is sometimes embarrassed to talk about her challenges. She finds it difficult to get help because many people are facing economic hardships.
“We have a lot of challenges, but you find it very hard to express them to people because maybe they will not help you with solutions. However, let me start with financial challenges. You know, in our country, it is hard for parents to support their female children,” Doru said. “It is hard for girls to get all their needs met. One can try all means but only manage to get 10 percent of their needs.”
She highlighted that it is especially hard for girls to meet their daily needs without parental support, which makes life even more challenging.
Meanwhile, Cecilia Kiden, a senior female teacher at City Dove Primary School, acknowledged that economic pressures have led to a rise in early marriages, as parents struggle to afford school fees for their daughters.
“The economic impacts have affected girls because parents cannot afford to pay the school fees of their children, so they will have to remain at home,” she explains. “In our country, where there are a lot of wars, children go to school when they are already mature. During crises, girls simply drop out of school.”
According to Kiden, the number of girls at her school has slightly dropped compared to previous years.
“The number of girls in my school is just moderate, although I can say it is not like the numbers of previous years because it has dropped,” she revealed. “In the previous years, you could find a 17-year-old girl still in primary school, but these days, with the economic crisis, it is hard to find big girls in primary school.”
Health challenges induced by economic hardships
Momo Stephen, a health worker and an HIV/AIDS counselor at Juba Teaching Hospital (JTH), noted that due to economic challenges, many girls are forced to make difficult choices, including getting involved in relationships with older men for financial gain. He warns that this can lead to the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.
“I have witnessed some life challenges faced by girls. We have cases that we are attending to, cases of rape, cases of girls who have been abused and had to come for counseling,” he said. “The economic crisis has pushed girls to other risks, especially trading their bodies in the name of exchanging sex for money, and forgetting the risks that they might encounter, especially sexually transmitted diseases like HIV and hepatitis.”
According to Stephen, most of the affected girls are between 14 and 16 years of age.
The government declares free primary and secondary school education.
In February 2023, President Salva Kiir directed the Ministry of General Education and Instruction, along with other relevant institutions, to implement a free primary and secondary school education policy across the country. Despite this directive, many parents continue to choose private schools, where they incur significant fees, because they perceive the quality of education in public schools to be inadequate.
With schools across the country reopening on 3 February 2025, many families still find it difficult to afford the necessary school fees, leading parents to reconsider their approach to this challenge.
Esther Akomo Achira, Director for Gender, Equity and Inclusive Education at the National Ministry of General Education and Instruction, stated that the free education initiative declared by President Kiir is no longer effective due to the current economic crisis.
“The free education is not very effective,” she disclosed. “The reason why free education was announced was because of the capitation grant that was given, particularly to the public schools, so that they do not ask for school fees.”
Akomo, however, said that because of unpaid teacher salaries, schools are now charging fees to cover the costs of essential school materials.
She also divulged that in order to support girls in schools, the Ministry of General Education has a program to support girls in schools by distributing reusable sanitary pads.
“We have the reusable sanitary pads and they are put in a dignity kit,” she enlightens. “We call it a dignity kit because it not only has the sanitary pad, but also towels and other components like the sandals, jelly, and wrappers.”
According to the official, the distribution of sanitary pads occurs annually to support girls who cannot afford them.