6.3 Million Euro Project Funded By European Union Aims to Build Resilience, Peace, and Prosperity

Updated on May 30, 2024

JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN – May 30^th:  More than 230,000 children, youth, and women in South Sudan’s Rubkona, Malakal and Akobo counties will benefit from new EU funded project “Building Resilient Communities: Empowering South Sudan for Peace and Prosperity”. The ambition of this new action – started last January 2024 – is to lead to better implementation of rule of law, human rights, stronger female and youth leadership, entrepreneurship, and economic development, improved agricultural productivity and more peaceful natural resource management. Furthermore, it will improve access to sustainable, clean water system, and contribute to resilient and peaceful communities that are protected from violence and other harm, able to survive, and prepared to face future challenges to support a more stable, resilient, and peaceful South Sudan.

The official launch was attended by officials from the European Union, donor representatives, GIZ and other implementing partners for the action, Ministry of Peace Building and Reconciliation, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare, County Commissioners, and the South Sudan Child Parliamentarians among others. 

Save the Children as the lead implementing partner for the project will work with War Child Holland, Tearfund, Coalition for Humanity, and WOCO to expand community peaceful co-existence and resilience services to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), host communities, returnees, and refugees) in three conflict-affected states of Jonglei, Upper Nile, and Unity.

The project also addresses cross-cutting issues of Women and Youth Empowerment, Human Rights, Gender equality mainstreaming, and climate-smart programming with focus on sustainable economies, basic services and specific peacebuilding activities while complementing the Dutch Relief Alliance’s ongoing humanitarian response interventions in the targeted areas.

Sophie Chambers, Acting Country Director, Save the Children South Sudan:

“This integrated project represents a pivotal step towards empowering grassroots civil society and local authorities in South Sudan to develop and implement sustainable solutions to the multifaceted challenges they face. By placing local leadership at the forefront, we are not only strengthening governance and resilience at the community level, but also cultivating community-owned solutions that can endure long after external support has concluded. This approach has the transformative potential to mitigate conflicts, enhance local resilience to climate-related shocks, and lay the foundation for a more prosperous and self-reliant future for the people of South Sudan”

Many families in South Sudan have lost their livelihoods due to conflict and displacement, exacerbating food insecurity and poverty. The project is timely for South Sudan, as the country is currently facing multiple challenges. These challenges include communal conflict, economic melt-down, flooding during rain seasons, heatwaves during dry season, and poor harvest. Additionally, the on-going conflict in neighboring countries of Sudan, parts of Congo and Central Africa have driven thousands of refugees and returnees in to the country, leaving approximately 9 million people, in critical humanitarian needs.

In his opening remarks, Lothar Jaschke, EU Deputy Head of Delegation, underlined that “Under this project, EU and its partners support the government and stakeholders in building robust local governance structures that are responsive and accountable to the communities they serve. The EU is a long standing friend to the people of South Sudan. We will do our best, together with implementing partners, local communities and government agencies to deliver concrete and positive changes on the ground. We want this action to be a real game changer for the 230.000 beneficiaries of this action”.

About Save the Children in South Sudan.

Save the Children has worked in South Sudan since 1991. The child rights organisation provides children with access to education, healthcare and nutritional support, and families with food security and livelihoods assistance. In 2023, the organisation’s programmes reached over  1.9 million people including 1.1  million children and this year Save the Children hopes to reach 1.4 million people in South Sudan. Save the Children is scaling up its humanitarian efforts in 2024 to offer critical humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable children who are affected by the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan.

About European Union (EU) in South Sudan.

The European Union is a supranational organization, uniting politically and economically 27 European countries. It is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. It acts globally to promote sustainable development of societies, environment and economies. This Action contributes to the Team Europe Initiative (TEI) “Good governance, peace and rule of law for a just society” which aims to contribute to a successful transition of South Sudan towards a peaceful, stable and democratic country.

For more media inquiriese, contact:

Kangu Tito Justin, Media and Communications Manager, Save the Children South Sudan Tito.Justin@savethechildren.org

EU in South Sudan: Francis Apiliga Lagu,

Francis-Apiliga.LAGU@eeas.europa.eu