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benparker140.bsky.social
Ben Parker
@benparker140.bsky.social
4.5K followers 1.1K following 150 posts
Humanitarian policy and practice, news, data and tech. Previous: UN South Sudan, CEO at The New Humanitarian, Chief of Staff at the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
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benparker140.bsky.social
More gloom (mainly) as budget cuts in the humanitarian sector bite. Postings on aid job board ReliefWeb continue to show steep declines in new hiring.

The change of government and more permissive aid environment probably explains why there were 1000+ new aid jobs posted for Syria.
A graph showing reduced vacancy postings by country on aid job board ReliefWeb. All are down by 25% or more except Syria.
October 9, 2025 at 9:52 AM
benparker140.bsky.social
Update: only one major aid agency is posting more job ads this year compared to 2024.
September 24, 2025 at 3:36 PM
benparker140.bsky.social
Postings are cratering on aid job board ReliefWeb:

⬇️ Q1 2025 has the least new postings since 2014.

📉 In Feb, there were only 29 US-based vacancies.

🌐 Among major locations, only Syria has more jobs in Q1 2025 YOY.

Data: @unocha.org’s ReliefWeb

Me: posting in a personal capacity
The US and several countries show reduced numbers of jobs ads from 2024-Q1 to 2025-Q1. Only Syria jobs are more than last year. A multiple line graph showing Jan to March 2025 the lowest for 12 years in terms of new job ads on aid job board ReliefWeb. Line graph: New US-based humanitarian jobs used to be hundreds per month. That’s cratered to under 30 in Feb 2025.
April 20, 2025 at 5:02 PM
benparker140.bsky.social
South Sudan explains the visa ban on X (@SouthSudanGov)
April 7, 2025 at 3:35 PM
benparker140.bsky.social
I did some #aidmegeddon #dataviz for development finance analyst Lydia Poole
Read more: www.linkedin.com/posts/lydia-...
A bubble graph showing the relative aid spending of major donor countries and their projected budget changes from 2023 to 2027.
March 9, 2025 at 10:34 PM
benparker140.bsky.social
USAID-themed comedy gig coming soon in Juba.
March 7, 2025 at 5:35 AM
benparker140.bsky.social
In Kenya’s Kakuma camp, refugees protested reduced rations. Police responded with live fire.

This is just the beginning.
March 4, 2025 at 2:41 PM
benparker140.bsky.social
A ringing op-ed on the brief social media ban in South Sudan: #keepiton
Photo of newspaper headline: “you cannot control diarrhoea by closing the Butthole”
January 25, 2025 at 2:32 PM
benparker140.bsky.social
Today’s South Sudan newspapers report the lifting of the ban and objections to it.
Two newspaper front pages with headlines “NCA to lift social media ban in next 72 hours” and “Lawyers condemn social media ban, threatening legal action”
January 24, 2025 at 7:59 AM
benparker140.bsky.social
It’s starting: OONI shows some degradation on some social media sites:

explorer.ooni.org/chart/mat?pr...

@giuliowolfe.bsky.social
Graph from OONI showing mixed results today for availability of social media sites.
January 23, 2025 at 8:41 AM
benparker140.bsky.social
So of course searches for VPNs are spiking according to Google Trends:

trends.google.com/trends/explo...
A 90-day graph from Google Trends showing a rapid increase in searches for Virtual Private Network in the last day from South Sudan.
January 23, 2025 at 7:13 AM
benparker140.bsky.social
So far in 2024 there have been 6 confirmed human cases of Guinea Worm in South Sudan. #carter

www.who.int/news-room/fa...
WHO South Sudan report extract : “4.4 Guinea worm: …In Week 48, a total of 708 suspected cases of Guinea Worm Disease (GWD) were reported, comprising 653 suspected human cases and 50 suspected animal infections. This increases the cumulative suspected cases for the year to 22,864. During this reporting period, 3 new human cases were confirmed, along with 3 domestic animal infections (2 cats and 1 dog) and 4 uncontained GWD infections in wild animals. Since the beginning of the year, there have been 6 confirmed human cases, 3 confirmed domestic animal infections, and 14 confirmed uncontained infections in wild animals. The majority of human cases and animal infections have been reported from Tonj East, followed by Rumbek Centre, Rumbek North, Lapo Lafon, Nyirol, Yirol West, and Uror counties. 4.5 Key intervention: The South Sudan Guinea Worm Eradication Program (SSGWEP) is intensifying its efforts to combat Guinea Worm Disease (GWD) through targeted interventions in surveillance, community education, and vector control. Notable achievements include screening 7,553 animals—94% of which were domestic, primarily dogs—for GWD, sensitizing 8,440 hunters and 21,532 fishermen on GWD prevention and the cash reward program for reporting cases, and treating 4,432 water sources with Abate to eliminate intermediate hosts in high-risk areas. Additionally, 6,140 cloth filters and 3,322 pipe filters were distributed or replaced to improve access to safe drinking water. These interventions are essential for addressing key transmission pathways, reducing infections, and fostering community engagement.”
December 30, 2024 at 5:39 AM
benparker140.bsky.social
New survey: “51% of respondents earned less than 30,000 South Sudanese Pounds (approx. USD$6) a month, 25% between 30,000 and 60,000, and 17% made more than that.”

unmiss.unmissions.org/sites/defaul...
A pie chart of survey responses on monthly household income: 51% less than 30,000 SSP 13% 30-60,000 SSP 12% 60-180,000 SSP [Remainder is higher or don’t know]
December 27, 2024 at 9:13 AM
benparker140.bsky.social
Get on board!
A photo of the Nile river from a low altitude aircraft.
December 21, 2024 at 6:35 PM
benparker140.bsky.social
Statement from Sudan Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
The Press Statement extends condolences, rejects and condemns targeting of humanitarian workers and says there will be an investigation.
December 21, 2024 at 11:18 AM
benparker140.bsky.social
The border between Sudan and South Sudan:
Photo of border crossing with arrival of people and donkey cart.
December 13, 2024 at 6:54 PM
benparker140.bsky.social
The WorldBank made an infographic #SouthSudan
An infographic by the World Bank about South Sudan’s poverty. Bad.
December 13, 2024 at 6:45 PM
benparker140.bsky.social
This is about $10:
A large block of South Sudanese pounds fastened with rubber bands.
December 7, 2024 at 5:24 AM
benparker140.bsky.social
The ranking of social media in South Sudan:
A news article on succession rumours about the president of South Sudan says they have travelled “even” on X.
December 5, 2024 at 6:31 AM
benparker140.bsky.social
Kayak and Expedia don’t present the capital of South Sudan, Juba as a bookable flight location. Kayak’s popup says it’s for “regulatory reasons”. Expedia help desk suggests an airport in the Caribbean. Is this a shadow ban because of US sanctions on Sudan from which South Sudan seceded 13 years ago?
Transcript of help chat with Expedia: Me: Juba has plenty of flights including Turkish Airlines Rep: I understand. Yes I’m checking and there are options close to Juba the PLS airport. Me: That is very very far away. Juba is in Africa. Rep: I understand
December 1, 2024 at 7:11 PM
benparker140.bsky.social
Stick around for more macroeconomic commentary:
A Juba street corner with graffiti saying “fuck”.
November 28, 2024 at 7:06 PM
benparker140.bsky.social
I saw a price of 5,100 South Sudanese pounds for one dollar at an exchange kiosk yesterday. The currency continues to slide. Data from WFP: dataviz.vam.wfp.org/eastern-afri...
A line graph showing the exchange rate between the dollar and the South Sudanese pound from August 2023 (about 1,000) to November 2024 (nearly 5,000).
November 28, 2024 at 9:09 AM
benparker140.bsky.social
And when food prices go up, how do #SouthSudan families cope?

This study by REACH gives some answers: repository.impact-initiatives.org/document/imp...
A graph showing that in four locations, people in South Sudan are skipping or reducing meals, borrowing, and eating lower-quality foods.
November 26, 2024 at 5:30 AM
benparker140.bsky.social
The South Sudan figure is correct. It’s the official Consumer Price Index inflation rate year-on-year. But the official data stopped after July. Unofficial sources suggest that inflation continues to accelerate.

nbs.gov.ss/statistical-...

#SouthSudan
A line graph of official inflation statistics for South Sudan 2022-2024 showing a rapid increase in 2024.
November 22, 2024 at 1:44 PM
benparker140.bsky.social
Here’s the flooded area since June according to UN satellite imagery analysis: reliefweb.int/report/south...
An area graph showing floodwater extent in South Sudan from about 10,000 square kilometres in June to about 40,000 at the end of October 2024.
November 19, 2024 at 1:24 PM