The Currency of Connections: Why local support systems are integral to helping people recover in South Sudan

In protracted crises in which formal governance structures are weak to nonexistent, people depend heavily on local systems—both social and economic—to get by, often more than they depend on external aid. Households and economic actors may rely on their friends, neighbors, and extended families for food, access to economic opportunities, and negotiation of safe passage when fleeing from conflict.

This report provides insight as to how aid actors can both complement and potentially disrupt social protection and support systems in South Sudan. The authors hope that this knowledge will help donors and aid actors to design programs that strenghten pre-existing social protection systems.