 I'm Nicholas Hart, Coordinator for the South Sudan Protection Cluster. As the conflict entered its fifth year, the consequences on the civilian population are dire. Men, women, girls and boys are caught in the crossfire, directly attacked, forcibly recruited and raped. As a result, around one in every three South Sudanese have fled their homes. 1.9 million South Sudanese are internally displaced and over 2 million South Sudanese have fled to neighbouring countries. As the conflict continues, South Sudanese continue to face more and more challenges in accessing food. Due to insecurity, people are unable to access their fields to plant or harvest crops or to reach markets. Livelihoods have been disrupted or destroyed. As a result, South Sudanese are increasingly forced to adopt unsustainable or negative coping mechanisms to deal with their dire situation, including families forcing girls into early marriage and women and girls are exchanging sex for food. The Protection Cluster is working closely with protection partners to identify those most in need and to coordinate response. In 2017, interventions by protection partners minimised protection risks for over 2.8 million South Sudanese. Tens of thousands of women and girls were provided with dignity kits and services for gender-based violence. Over 27,000 explosive hazards were removed from contaminated lands, including critical infrastructure, schools, hospitals, houses and fields. Thousands of unaccompanied or separated children were reunified with their families. Whilst protection interventions are strengthened, the challenges faced by protection partners are increasing and are daunting. The Protection Cluster is drastically underfunded. In addition, protection partners increasingly facing challenges reaching those most in need. In 2017, there were over 1,000 access incidents. Nearly half of those involved violence against humanitarian staff or property. Since the conflict began in December 2013, 95 humanitarians have been killed. In 2018, the Protection Cluster is targeting 3.6 million South Sudanese most in need of urgent assistance. The Protection Cluster, amongst other activities, will strengthen community-based mechanisms, identify those most at risk, provide life-saving services for survivors of gender-based violence, reunify thousands of unaccompanied or separated children with their families and continue to clear millions of square metres of land contaminated with explosive hazards, including 170 schools and 70 hospitals. The people of South Sudan want peace. The people of South Sudan need peace and they need it now.