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USAID Information:
External Links:
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Sudan
The Development Challenge: This is an exciting time for Sudan and for USAID's programs. Among the Sudanese people there is a new-found optimism that the prospects for peace are greater than ever. A shift to higher-level negotiations since September 2003 between Dr. John Garang, leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and Vice President of the Government of Sudan (GOS), Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, yielded a landmark security agreement and a revenue sharing agreement. Sudan is closer to peace now than at any other time in the last 20 years and a peace settlement is anticipated by the summer of 2004.
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Please note: All documents are in pdf format |
The current and next rounds of talks are crucial, as they represent the final phase of reaching a peace agreement. Two major areas of disagreement remain: power-sharing and the status of the three contested areas in northern Sudan controlled by SPLM. Pressure from the United States and other international actors played a crucial and welcome role in bringing the peace process to its current advanced stage.
Stable southern areas experienced some economic recovery, with food surpluses realized in the Western Equatoria region and trade increased with Uganda. However, enormous development challenges persist. Intermittent conflict and related human rights abuses (especially in the western Sudan region of Darfur) and deep ethnic and religious rifts will make reconciliation and a transition to peace difficult. The lack of basic physical infrastructure and institutional capacity, particularly in the south, will impede economic and social progress. Extremely high rates of illiteracy, limited access to basic education, high rates of child mortality and infectious diseases, an emerging HIV/AIDS threat, lack of financial institutions and economic opportunities, low agricultural production, and inaccessible markets are legacies from years of conflict and development neglect. With USAID assistance, some southern communities have begun rebuilding their education systems and have begun economic recovery programs.
The U.S. national interest in Sudan is to achieve a durable peace that will improve stability, help safeguard human rights and religious tolerance, end state sponsorship of international terrorism, and ensure unimpeded access for the delivery of humanitarian and development assistance. A peaceful Sudan is also important to the United States to promote regional stability in the volatile Horn of Africa. The U.S. Government is urging both parties to reach agreement, and senior Administration officials have provided encouragement and diplomatic pressure to the Government of Sudan and the SPLM to stay the course.
The USAID Program: The current program helps prepare the southern Sudanese for a transition from conflict to peace, focusing on four strategic objectives (SOs) and one special objective (SpO). The SOs center on good governance, basic education, health and economic recovery. The special objective focuses on quick impact, small scale, infrastructure rehabilitation (such as schools, clinics and waterpoints) and expanded support to the peace process. All activities emphasize capacity building at the local level.
FY 2004 funds will be used for ongoing conflict mitigation, good governance, basic education, health, and agriculture activities. Funds will also support new road and communications infrastructure and primary health services initiatives. FY 2005 funds will be used for ongoing, high cost, road building and other infrastructure, agriculture, education and health services activities and will also support new governance and economic recovery activities. USAID and its nongovernmental implementing partners work with appropriate southern Sudanese authorities. In opposition-administered areas, USAID coordinates activities with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement. In GOS-administered areas, coordination of humanitarian assistance is with the GOS Humanitarian Affairs Commission, within the legal parameters of U.S. sanctions against Sudan.
The $20 million from the FY 2004 Emergency Supplemental Appropriation Act for Iraq and Afghanistan will be used to support the peace agreement in southern Sudan and for humanitarian response in western Sudan (Darfur). In the south, USAID will support the new Government of Southern Sudan through infrastructure and training, and the transition to peace through demobilization and reintegration of armed groups in the main southern cities. In the west, where there is on-going conflict in Darfur, USAID will expand its relief programs to assist displaced populations. as they become accessible.
Other Program Elements: USAID will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to respond to continuing humanitarian crisis needs throughout the country. In FY 2004, humanitarian funds will be used for immediate disaster response, especially in Sudan's western region of Greater Darfur, where escalating conflict has displaced an estimated one million civilians. Funds will also be used for continuing essential health, water and sanitation services for war-affected communities, for quick-impact programs that build public support for peace by providing rapid and visible benefits to communities, and for nutritional support for war-affected communities through food aid. Transition Initiatives funds will be used for media and conflict mitigation activities. Relief will likely be needed to support ongoing reconstruction and resettlement activities. The State Department will continue to provide funding for the Civilian Protection Monitoring Team and the Verification and Monitoring Team, although it is anticipated that the activities of these bodies will decrease as peace is consolidated in the South. The State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration will provide assistance through UNHCR, ICRC and non-government organizations to returning refugees. State also works with USAID, its implementing partners, and other international donors to coordinate reconciliation activities among various armed groups within southern Sudan who are not direct parties to the peace negotiations. In connection with such activities, State will continue to provide funding to help reinforce local southern efforts at reconciliation. State also anticipates support to facilitate reform within the armed forces. These activities complement USAID humanitarian and conflict mitigation efforts. USAID will pursue public-private alliances to complement USG resources.
Other Donors: Other donor funding for development is expected to increase once a formal peace agreement is signed. The United States remains the only major donor providing funds for development in opposition-administered areas. Other donors provide substantial levels of humanitarian assistance throughout Sudan. The European Union provides commodity and cash assistance. Germany, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Switzerland, and Japan channel humanitarian assistance through United Nations (UN) agencies, and non governmental groups. Various UN agencies provide core funds in addition to administering other donors' humanitarian efforts. The UN Humanitarian Coordination Unit provides coordination services, and the World Food Program and the UN International Children's Fund administer large programs. Other participating UN entities include the Food and Agriculture Organization, Development Program, Population Fund, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and the World Health Organization.
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