The Government of South Sudan is encouraging further inter-ministerial co-operation to improve water, sanitation and hygiene services for the country’s communities – a move which has been strongly welcomed by key sector stakeholders.
As part of the preparatory process for SWA’s 2022 Sector Ministers’ Meeting (SMM), South Sudan’s ministry for water and irrigation arranged collaborative dialogue with six other ministries, covering health, housing, education, environment, gender, and humanitarian affairs. SWA is working with South Sudan to encourage engagement with high-level decision makers, and the talks sought to focus decision makers’ minds and overcome some of the obstacles preventing sector progress, in a country still facing challenges following a civil war and delayed elections.
The discussions included civil society stakeholders and donors as well as the seven ministries, and focused on how South Sudan would present the challenges and lessons of the country’s sector at SWA’s SMM.
Thanks to the SWA Sector Ministers’ Meeting gathering, cabinet approved an increase of $58 million to the WASH budget.
The discussions helped to formulate a common understanding of gaps facing South Sudan’s sector, and began to articulate a shared vision for tackling them. Indeed, as Mr. Modi Alphonse, Head of the Rural Water and Sanitation Support Agency (RUWASSA) explained: “To have several ministries talking to each other in a single conversation made a huge difference – it focused minds, encouraged agreement, and enabled decisions to be made quickly.”
It is hoped the positive progress for the sector will continue as a fitting legacy for the minister, who died suddenly in June. The late minister had led calls for improved, resilient sector co-ordination structures to deliver better services to communities. It is encouraging that SWA’s focal point with the Government, and other partners in South Sudan are building on the legacy of the late minister, through the development of a ministerial financing compact for the sector. For the first time in South Sudan, this will make public finance available to attract further sector investment.
SWA continues to work with the Government to help the sector build on the potential for progress illustrated by the inter-ministry collaboration. This includes supporting the Government and its partners to develop a Presidential ‘WASH Compact’, securing commitments on water, sanitation and hygiene that transcend politics, introducing stability and a common vision to the sector.