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The Shrinking Foreign Aid: A Call for Advancing Mutual Aid—The Case of South Sudan
Luka Biong Deng Kuol
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DOI:10.17265/2328-2134/2026.03.001
University of Juba, Juba, South Sudan
The Sudd Institute, Juba, South Sudan
National Defense University, Washington, USA
Tufts University, Boston, USA
The sharp cuts in the Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2025 have posed a serious funding challenge not only to the foreign aid-recipient countries but also to the externally dominated humanitarian aid sector. The shrinking of the ODA has renewed debate not only about the legitimacy of the current business model of the aid sector, but it has brought to front the revival of the role of mutual aid in the aid-recipient countries to mitigate the negative impacts of the cuts in the foreign aid. Despite the growing recognition of the role of mutual aid in sustaining crisis-affected communities before and during the coming of the foreign aid, there is limited documentation of such community-led response initiatives in such countries including South Sudan. The main objective of this research was to contribute to narrowing the knowledge gap by assessing the presence of mutual aid and its effectiveness during crises in South Sudan. Based on the review of various definitions, mutual aid is defined in this research in terms of its common characteristics that include volunteerism, spontaneity, demand-driven, flexibility, the sharing of resources, reciprocity and solidarity, with approaches that are less bureaucratic, demand-driven, and community-led. Based on hybrid research methods, this study reveals a robust, deeply rooted ecosystem of community-led responses, which not only provide the first line of response to crises but also serve as one of the most important elements of the humanitarian crisis response chain, with women and youth playing prominent roles. Examples of these community-led responses are related to (i) flood and environmental crises mitigation, (ii) food security and resource-sharing mechanisms, (iii) peacebuilding, social cohesion, and conflict mitigation efforts, (iv) local women- and youth-led resilience community structures, (v) traditional justice, cultural safety nets, and indigenous institutions and (vi) community-based emergency rescue and humanitarian support. One key recommendation from this research is for the government of South Sudan to advance mutual aid by adopting a national policy that acknowledges and recognises these mutual aid initiatives as key element in the humanitarian crisis response chain, as well as providing policy guidance to formal aid actors to forge supportive partnerships with mutual aid groups.
foreign aid, mutual aid, humanitarian crises, solidarity, charity, community-led responses, localization, South Sudan
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