South Sudan Displacement Crisis: Cross-Border Population Movement Factsheet – Akobo Port and Road Monitoring Akobo County, Jonglei State, South Sudan (April 2021)

CONTEXT AND METHODOLOGY

Akobo town is located in the eastern side of Akobo County, Jonglei State, close to the land and river border crossings with Ethiopia. Akobo is a key point of trade and transit between South Sudan and Ethiopia. Since the beginning of the crisis in 2013, this route has been used by South Sudanese heading to or coming back from refugee camps in Ethiopia. Since May 2015, REACH has been recording arrivals and departures of South Sudanese households (HHs) in four locations, Gadrang Road, Koatkoangthor Road, Tundol Port and Market Port, on a daily basis.

In order to provide an indication of wider trends, data is collected on the volume of movement, as well as the motivations and intentions of those travelling. REACH teams interviewed arrivals and departures at the household (HH) level. For movements larger than three households, a short alternative survey is used to assess HH and individual numbers by speaking to the Transport Focal Point (TFP), such as the driver or transport authority.

Due to insecurity and other issues, data is not always collected on a daily basis. To correct for this inconsistency, data presented for general movement trends across months represents an average based on the number of days of data collection each month. The data presented here is not representative, nor does it capture all movements in and out of Akobo. Rather, it is indicative of movement trends for the assessed population.

The following findings are based on primary data collected between the 1st and 30th April 2021.

Source: REACH Initiative