Preparing Southern Sudan for the Transition to Peace
In many conflict countries, peace agreements can quickly unravel at the grass roots level because ruling authorities and people were not prepared for peace. During the Administrator's trip to southern Sudan, he focused on capacity building and training initiatives.
The overwhelming need, in this regard, is to address the long-term development needs in the South, rather than continuing only humanitarian assistance. The common thread from civil authorities, civil society, and other members of the private sector was to help them achieve self-reliance and self-sufficiency, and to reduce their dependence on humanitarian assistance.
Many southern Sudanese said they are not prepared for governance and development should peace be achieved. USAID began a small development assistance program in stable areas of the south in 1998. Following the Administrator's July trip, this is now expanding into a $20 million program by 2003.
The two most significant needs identified were education and agriculture. As a result, the Administrator unveiled two new
major initiatives: The USAID Southern Sudan Agricultural Revitalization Project and the USAID Sudan Basic Education Program.
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