Village Assessment Survey

The IOM Village Assessment Survey (VAS) is an IOM product that has been used across South Sudan for humanitarian and development purposes since 2007. It is a comprehensive data source for South Sudan that provides detailed information on access to basic services, infrastructure and other key indicators essential for ensuring that reintegration programs are developed and implemented on a foundation of accurate information.

The 2012/2013 VAS represents IOM’s largest effort to date, encompassing 30 of South Sudan’s 78 counties, where an estimated 72% of the returnee population (based on estimates of 2012) resettled. Particular emphasis was placed on assessing payams outside the capitals, where comparatively fewer comprehensive assessments had been carried out. The VAS survey gathers baseline data across key sectors – namely access to healthcare, education, protection mechanisms, livelihoods, and water & sanitation.

Where applicable, the VAS is aggregated at the state level to explain geographical variations in key indicators, although it is not strictly representative at the state level. Further, three categories of the priority counties were created for the data analysis phase: counties of high return, counties of medium return, and counties of low return, with ten counties in each classification.

As a result of these efforts, a comprehensive report that provides a general overview of the VAS findings has been produced along with 30 county profiles and atlases that offer more detailed information at the county, payam and boma levels. Together, these documents provide updated baseline information to a wide spectrum of humanitarian and development partners.

VAS Interactive Portal

The VAS reports can be downloaded here