Coping Mechanisms in South Sudan in Relation to Different Types of Shock

Abstract

This helpdesk report provides an assessment of the negative and positive coping mechanisms of different groups (based on wealth (below the poverty line/elites), gender, age, (dis)abilities, geographies (rural/urban), and ethnicity of people in South Sudan in relation to different types of shock. The report highlights that coping strategies are varied and multifaceted, they are a product of the vulnerability of particular individuals, households and communities and are the product of responses to shocks and stressors that may be acute or chronic. It is important to note that coping strategies in the South Sudanese context have often been developed in response to food insecurity, climatic change and conflict and that new shocks may undermine these existing strategies, necessitate evolution of these or the adoption of new strategies. Given the complexity and broad nature of the subject, the report is broad in its scope and structured into the following three sections: Context, Vulnerability and Coping strategies.