About the USAID Mission in South Sudan

The Republic of South Sudan became an independent nation on July 9, 2011, after Southern Sudanese voted overwhelmingly for secession in a January 2011 referendum agreed to under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended decades of civil war.

As South Sudan embarks on nationhood, USAID seeks to help make the new nation increasingly stable while helping the government deliver basic services to citizens; provide effective, inclusive, and accountable governance; diversify the economy; and combat poverty.

Increasing stability in South Sudan will depend on a combination of strengthening core governance institutions and processes and making them more inclusive, responding to the expectations of the population for essential services and improved livelihoods, as well as containing conflicts and addressing the grievances behind them.

Programs

Peace and Security

USAID programs will work to address the causes of conflict and promote conditions for peace and community security in conflict-prone regions of South Sudan. This includes supporting the establishment of community-based conflict mitigation mechanisms, inclusive of local leaders, women and youth, which build democratic processes for addressing conflict without violence.

Governing Justly and Democratically

USAID has supported key Government of South Sudan (GOSS) institutions since 2005, when many GOSS ministries and commissions were established, and will continue to work with the GOSS to strengthen central institutions and systems in order to meet citizen needs and extend public services and governance systems to state and county level governments. In addition, USAID will strengthen the capacity of citizens, civil society, media, and other nongovernmental actors to engage constructively with the GOSS to hold their government accountable at all levels and ensure it is responsive to the needs and interests of citizens. USAID provided technical support for the drafting of and public outreach on the transitional constitution, and will provide support for creation of a permanent constitution with citizen participation and oversight.

Investing in People

The vast majority of the population of South Sudan lacks access to essential education, health, nutrition, safe water, and sanitation services. USAID will support the ongoing delivery of essential services and build the capacity of government to deliver effective and increasingly sustainable essential services that meet the needs and demands of all Southern Sudanese.

Economic Growth

The lack of economic opportunity, particularly among marginalized youth, is a potential driver of conflict in South Sudan. USAID will support sustained and inclusive agriculture sector-led growth to enhance resiliency and reinforce stability, by increasing agricultural productivity and linking communities to markets, providing access to credit for agribusinesses and small-scale farmers, and building strategic partnerships to better enable Southern Sudanese to capture market opportunities and enhance stability in areas where lack of economic opportunity is part of the conflict dynamic.

Humanitarian Assistance

USAID is responding with lifesaving assistance to the urgent needs of those displaced and affected by conflicts, including the Abyei crisis that erupted in May 2011, and other emergencies, such as floods. This assistance includes food aid; cooking, shelter, and basic hygiene materials; and livelihood activities. USAID is also assisting many of the hundreds of thousands of Sudanese of southern origin who have returned from northern Sudan to their home areas in South Sudan before and since the January 2011 referendum. This includes helping returnees to reach their home areas, providing livelihoods support to help them begin productive lives in South Sudan, and supporting essential services, including food security, shelter, water, health, and sanitation in states with the largest numbers of southern returnees.