USAID ENABLES GOSS WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE POLICY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000789

DEPT FOR SE GRATION, S/USSES, AF A/S CARSON, AF/E
NSC FOR MGAVIN
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KPKO SOCI ASEC AU UNSC SU
SUBJECT: USAID ENABLES GOSS WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE POLICY
IMPLEMENTATION

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SUMMARY
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1. SUMMARY. Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) infrastructure and
facilities in southern Sudan remain abysmal with only 9% of the
population having sustained access to both safe water and sanitation
facilities. USAID has made this a priority for improved service
delivery. Through the Building Responsibility for the Delivery of
Government Services Program (BRIDGE),USAID brought together three
tiers of senior government officials for the inaugural dissemination
of the Government of Southern Sudan's (GOSS) new water policy. As a
result of this initiative, the Minister of Water Resources and
Irrigation (MWRI) directed state level actors to develop and
implement county action plans with their constituent communities.
USAID/Sudan's WASH program is the largest of its kind in Africa.
The program's goal is to continue to strengthen the capacity of
local governments to deliver these essential services during the
remaining, interim period of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement
(CPA). END SUMMARY.

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WASH PROGRAM - GOSS BUDGET PRIORITY
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2. WASH program implementation is one of the
top six budget priorities for the GOSS. Due to the twenty- one year
North-South civil war in Sudan, which ended with the signing of the
CPA in 2005, WASH infrastructure and facilities in southern Sudan
remain abysmal. Only nine percent of the population has sustained
access to both safe water and sanitation facilities. Southern Sudan
is currently receiving significant investment from donors in the
WASH sector, with USAID contributing more than any other bi-lateral
donor. Given low levels of access to safe drinking water and proper
sanitation systems, sector funding is estimated to be far short of
what is needed to meet Millennium Development Goals. Government
capacity remains weak, particularly at state and county levels,
resulting in a governance gap that inhibits effective, efficient,
and well-coordinated government systems to support the sustainable
provision of basic WASH service delivery. Building this capacity is
a particular focus of the USAID program.

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WATER POLICY DISSEMINATION WORKSHOP
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3. The inaugural GOSS Water Policy Dissemination Workshop, funded by
USAID, was held in Juba from 16-18 June 2009. It provided an
orientation for state and county officials on the new policy.
According to the Undersecretary of MWRI, the workshop was invaluable
in assisting GOSS to disseminate the policy, and it facilitated
communication between different levels of government. The GOSS MWRI
conducted the workshop with support from USAID's implementing
partner, Winrock International, and targeted the BRIDGE focus states
of Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Unity, Warrap and Upper Nile. The USAID
Mission Director closed the gathering, stating that "dissemination
of the new GOSS water policy is critical since it forms the
foundation for our future efforts in providing basic WASH service
delivery to the people of southern Sudan."


4. Water policy development in southern Sudan started in 2005 and
was finalized in November 2007. The policy development process was
consultative, with significant input from development partners and
state and county WASH officials. However, the GOSS water policy was
not formally launched. The Water Policy Dissemination Workshop
opened by the Minister for Water Resources and Irrigation represents
the GOSS's first effort to disseminate, orient and implement the new
policy in southern Sudan. It was a ground-breaking event in
furthering dialogue between all levels of government on this
critical sector. Workshop participants included representatives
(Ministers, State Ministers, Undersecretaries, Director Generals,
Commissioners, and Inspectors) from relevant GOSS, state and county
level institutions from six southern states, as well as
nongovernmental actors and development partners working in the WASH
sector. Participants worked far beyond the scheduled timeframe each
day in order to better understand the new policy and what its
implementation will mean for citizens in their states, counties and
communities as the WASH sector moves forward.

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NEXT STEPS
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5. Policy dissemination is an essential pre-requisite for strategy
development, and the June 14th workshop provided a unique

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opportunity for vertical integration and discussion within the
sector. It also helped establish a foundation for the next step of
WASH strategy development, which is now scheduled to get under way
in the last quarter of 2009. The latter will consist of four
sub-sector strategies: Sanitation, Urban Water Supply, Rural Water
Supply and Water Resource Management. The strategies will outline
the plan and the GOSS approach to implementing its water policy to
meet Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Strategy development
will also link WASH program implementation to the annual GOSS budget
and planning processes.

ASQUINO