Forgotten in a Protracted Crisis: South Sudanese Refugees in Ethiopia’s Gambella Region Face New Hardships as Aid Withers

Clinics that once offered at least primary care and essential drugs are now often empty shelves, as supply pipelines and NGO health projects are disrupted. Education, too, is imperiled – Thijok, added “schools in the camps lack books and even chalk, and teachers (many of whom are refugees) worry their incomes may vanish, which in the future will force them to abandon the classrooms.”

Amid these hardships, refugees continue to demonstrate remarkable resilience and solidarity. “We are sensitizing refugee communities about what’s coming,” says Munene. “They need to know things will not be the same. This is a call for resilience – and for strengthening community-led responses in the absence of full-scale humanitarian coverage.” Refugee leaders like Thijok are doing their best to keep people informed and calm, even as uncertainty grows. But resilience has its limits. “There is no hope that we rely on now, since we can’t go back to South Sudan – South Sudan is still at ethnic conflict,” Thijok says quietly. “Our only hope is to stay here.”  

What makes the situation in Gambella particularly painful is that it’s no longer front-page news. “Gambella is not considered an ‘active’ emergency anymore,” Munene points out. “It’s a protracted crisis – and those often suffer most when donor attention shifts elsewhere.” Refugees here have been in exile for years; some children have been born and raised in these camps. The initial influx from South Sudan’s war has tapered off, and without dramatic new events, international focus has moved on. 

But protracted does not mean solved. The needs remain immense, and in fact they are growing as infrastructure ages and refugees exhaust their meager resources. “Gambella remains one of the most underserved regions in Ethiopia,” Munene notes. “It’s underfunded, often overlooked, and has long struggled with structural challenges in health, education, and infrastructure.” The local host community in Gambella – which is itself a poor, rural population – shares many of these struggles. They too rely on the regional hospital, on the water system, on roads and markets that have been supported by humanitarian presence. “If humanitarian organizations pull out now, the consequences could be devastating – not just for refugees, but for the host communities as well,” Munene warns.

One striking example is water: The municipal water system in Gambella town was built over a decade ago to serve a population of around 5,000. Today, Gambella town and the surrounding settlements together count over 400,000 people. Without international support, a small-town water utility cannot cope with that. Refugees would have to turn to the river or unprotected wells, risking disease, and host communities would face more competition for scarce water. This kind of strain is mirrored in schooling, healthcare, and employment – refugees and nationals alike will suffer if aid is withdrawn abruptly. In short, the region is not yet resilient enough to absorb the shock of a major humanitarian drawdown.

Oxfam and our donor partners are determined not to let that happen. As Munene says, “If today organizations like Oxfam exited Gambella, the impact would be immediate and severe. These aren’t luxury services – they’re life-saving interventions.” Oxfam knows that lives are on the line and are doing everything possible to adapt and advocate. Through local partnerships and innovative community-led projects, Oxfam is still striving to make programs more sustainable. But stop-gap measures will not replace the need for robust funding. That is why we are urgently calling on international donors and stakeholders to remember places like Gambella during this global aid pause.

The situation in Gambella highlights what is at stake when humanitarian funding dries up, even indirectly. It is a story that can be told in many other refugee camps and communities across the world in 2025: The refugees of Gambella are among the millions of people caught in the ripple effects of geopolitics and budget cuts, and their basic survival hangs in the balance. 

“Humanitarian aid should never be about politics – it is about human lives and dignity” says Munene as Hailu, the WASH coordinator at Oxfam in Ethiopia puts it, “Gambella’s refugees have already lost so much. We can’t let funding shortfalls be the reason they lose access to water, health, and hope. This is the moment for global solidarity.”

Oxfam in Ethiopia remains committed to working with UNHCR, RRS, and all our partners to uphold the dignity and rights of refugees in Gambella. We urge the international community to join us in this commitment. Lives depend on it.

Sources: Oxfam interviews from field; Oxfam and partner/donor statements on the impact of the US foreign aid pause.