Livestock play a vital role in the livelihoods of communities in the bordering countries of South Sudan and Uganda. However, when these animals are crossing from country to country, many can suffer from serious animal health issues, such as the spread of Foot and Mouth disease. There are also a range of negative socio-economic impacts caused by transboundary Animal Diseases or outbreaks during cross-border movement.

In the day of a community-based animal health worker (CBAHW) in South Sudan, you have to rise and shine before the cows do. CBAHWs are trained veterinarian service providers and work around the country volunteering to vaccinate and treat livestock. The population of livestock in South Sudan makes its national herd the third largest on the African continent. But due to conflict and large-scale displacement by way of the current crisis, normal livestock migration patterns have been disrupted for millions of livestock.

United Nations agencies and Non-governmental Organizations in South Sudan have undertaken an emergency airlift operation to deliver survival kits, containing lifesaving supplies, to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in hard-to-reach areas of Unity State. Recent violence has affected an estimated 750 000 people in Greater Upper Nile and forced approximately 150 000 people to flee their homes, many to extremely remote areas. Most are rural households, forced to abandon their lands before they could plant this season's main crops.

With his hands full of tomatoes, Atiang Lual Yel took a break from his farm work to meet with a team from FAO South Sudan and the Swiss Agency for Cooperation and Development (SDC). The SDC is a resource partner for the FAO-implemented project "Improved food security and livelihood development for agropastoral communities in Northern Bahr el-Ghazal and Warrap States."