The World Bank in South Sudan

The Republic of South Sudan became the world’s youngest nation and Africa’s 54^th country on July 9, 2011. However, outbreaks of civil war in 2013 and 2016, persistent subnational violence, weak management of public resources, and political contestation have undermined post-independence development gains and intensified existing humanitarian needs. More than a decade after independence, South Sudan remains impacted by fragility, economic stagnation, and instability. Poverty is ubiquitous, exacerbated by conflict, displacement, and external shocks.

The signing of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) in September 2018 and the formation of a Transitional Government of National Unity in February 2020 have contributed to greater stability.  The transitional period was recently further extended to February 2027. However, a modest economic recovery recorded following the peace agreement has been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic, historic floods, the conflict in Sudan, and challenges in public financial management. South Sudan’s economic outlook is now clouded by crippling shocks to its heavily oil-dependent economy, highlighting the need for diversification. As South Sudan depends on neighboring Sudan as the only route to export oil to international markets, the conflict in Sudan significantly impacted South Sudan’s macroeconomic stability. The fiscal capacity to mitigate significant declines in oil production or shocks in global oil and food prices remains severely constrained by substantial challenges in the governance of oil sector revenues and weak fiscal discipline.

South Sudan’s vulnerability to climate change and natural disasters compounds the country’s humanitarian crisis, jeopardizing recovery, and undermining development efforts. Since its independence in 2011, the country has suffered from severe droughts (2011, 2015) and floods (2014, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2024), resulting in high numbers of fatalities, displacements and loss of livestock which have severely impacted people’s livelihoods. As of September 2024, a new web of flooding has affected more than 735,000 people across 38 of 78 counties in South Sudan, worsening an already critical humanitarian situation marked by severe food insecurity, economic decline, continued conflict, disease outbreaks, and the repercussions of the Sudan conflict.

South Sudan remains in a serious humanitarian crisis. An estimated 9 million people, including refugees in South Sudan, will experience critical needs in 2024. An estimated 7.1 million individuals of South Sudan's total population of 12.4 million will require food assistance during the lean season from April to July 2024. Women and children continue to be the most affected. The humanitarian crisis has been further exacerbated by the recent conflict in neighboring Sudan, which has led to an inflow of refugees and returnees into South Sudan. As of September 2024, 797,189 returnees, refugees, and asylum seekers have arrived in South Sudan, approximately 78% of whom are South Sudanese refugee returnees.

Looking forward, ensuring the implementation of the peace agreement, as well as strengthening service delivery institutions, governance, and economic and public financial management systems, and addressing the root causes of fragility will prove critical as the country seeks to build resilience against future shocks and lay down the building blocks for a diversified, inclusive, and sustainable growth path.

Last Updated: Oct 01, 2024

The World Bank Group (WBG) has been engaged in South Sudan since the creation of the autonomous Government of Southern Sudan in 2005. The WBG’s strategy is guided by its Country Engagement Note (CEN) FY21-23. This has three focus areas: (a) laying the groundwork for institution building, (b) continuing support for basic public service delivery, and (c) promoting resilience and livelihood opportunities. The CEN also seeks to promote social inclusion, particularly of youth and women, as a cross-cutting principle. As of September 2024, the World Bank portfolio in South Sudan stands at $1.49 billion, covering eleven national and three regional operations across the sectors of governance, education, health, social protection, financial sector, agriculture, women’s empowerment, energy, water, digital development, and community resilience.

Last Updated: Oct 01, 2024

Below is a selection of recent World Bank accomplishments in South Sudan:

Accelerating the COVID-19 Vaccination Campaigns and Providing Essential Health Services. The World Bank has been the main contributor to COVID-19 vaccination in South Sudan and supported the Government of South Sudan to accelerate the vaccination efforts in the country. There has been significant progress on full vaccination rates, from less than 1% in 2021 to nearly 84.57 % (of whom 51% are women) of the target population in 2024 (one of the highest coverage rates in the region). More than 3,019,477 people, of whom 53% (1,601,090) are women, have received essential health, nutrition, and population services. Further, 1,464,472 children under-five were screened for malnutrition, 100,042 pregnant women received anti-natal care services, and 57,612 deliveries were conducted by skilled health personnel. On the nutrition front, 56,810 cartons of therapeutic nutrient formulas were distributed, targeting 70,900 severely malnourished children. 3,310 community nutrition volunteers were trained to conduct nutrition education sessions that resulted in the counselling of 231,278 mothers of children 0-23 months and 536,120 parents (at group counselling sessions), 4/5 of which were mothers.

Providing Income Opportunities. Through the South Sudan Safety Net Project (SSSNP), the World Bank has provided 65,045 poor and vulnerable households (nearly 423,051 individuals) with access to temporary income opportunities through direct income support as well as a labor-intensive public work program aimed at building and rehabilitating community assets across 10 counties in the country. Respectively, 77% and 80% of the households included in the labor-intensive public work program and the direct income support scheme were female-headed. The labor-intensive public work program contributed to addressing community priorities such as road maintenance/rehabilitation, agriculture, general cleaning, and drainage works. Over 43,338 beneficiaries also received cash, as well as training in financial literacy, water, hygiene and sanitation, and early childhood development.

Enhancing Community Resilience and Improving Access to Basic Services. The World Bank has helped improve access to basic services for over 738,000 people (of which 51% are women) in 369 villages (bomas) across 20 counties through the construction and rehabilitation of 345 identified community facilities. This generated over 595,000 person-days of wage labor, thus providing $4.6 million to the communities, with 27% of wages paid to women. Close to 5,000 community members have been trained on topics such as participatory planning, village resource mapping, and community-based disaster risk management, among others. More than 61,485 people have benefitted from the rehabilitation of community dikes and received training sessions on disaster risk management designed to reduce vulnerability to flooding.

Improving Agricultural Production. Through the Resilient Agricultural Livelihoods Project (RALP), the World Bank has reached out to more than 93,996 farmers with various assets and services to support stronger agricultural production and boost capacity to manage food insecurity.  The project also trained more than 922,100 beneficiaries in pest surveillance and provided 48,199 individuals with access to temporary income opportunities through direct income support as well as a labor-intensive public work program. It also supported raising and planting of more than 403,000 seedlings and the construction of four pesticide stores.

Supporting the Government’s Public Financial Management Reform Efforts. The Public Financial Management and Institutional Strengthening Project has supported the Government in establishing the legal, regulatory, and technical conditions necessary for implementing ambitious Public Financial Management (PFM) reforms. This includes the finalization of the Public Procurement Framework and the establishment and operationalization of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDAA).  Procurement Committees (PCs) have been established in 35 key Ministries, Departments, and Agencies.

Last Updated: Oct 01, 2024

The World Bank maintains strong partnerships and engages regularly with development and humanitarian partners, UN agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGO), and civil society organizations (CSOs) in South Sudan.

Last Updated: Oct 01, 2024