August 2022
We support community-led programs to build resilience and peace.
 At the announcement in Juba on August 4 of $223 million in USAID funding to the UN World Food Programme, from left to right: World Food Programme (WFP) Acting Country Director for South Sudan Adeyinka Badejo, WFP Regional Director for Eastern Africa Michael Dunford, South Sudan Vice President Rebecca Nyandeng, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires ad interim William Flens, USAID Acting Mission Director Mark Anthony White. Photo: Victor Lugala/USAID
USAID Providing $223 Million for South Sudan Food Assistance through WFP
On August 4, the U.S Government announced $223 million in funding to the UN World Food Programme for critical food and nutrition assistance to reach millions of South Sudanese facing life-threatening hunger. South Sudan is witnessing its worst food crisis since independence due to conflict, devastating floods, localized drought, and impacts of a global food and fuel crisis exacerbated by Russia’s unprovoked war on Ukraine. The funding will deliver immediate support for 2.4 million severely food-insecure children, women, and men with lifesaving food and nutrition assistance as well as cash transfers. It will enable WFP to resume general food distributions for nearly 1 million people across 18 counties experiencing emergency levels of acute food insecurity, where food distributions were previously suspended due to budget shortfalls. Distributions have already resumed in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State’s Aweil South and Aweil West counties, reaching more than 9,000 beneficiaries. The funds will also enable WFP to resume school feeding for nearly 120,000 students in 260 schools where assistance was previously suspended.
 USAID's Resilience through Agriculture in South Sudan Activity trains lead farmers on good agricultural practices. They then share their knowledge with other farmers to improve agricultural productivity and increase food security. Photo: Resilience through Agriculture in South Sudan
Agricultural Training Is Bringing Better Yields for Farmers
Jacob Lokure Chirilo of Lohomit village in Budi County is among 96 lead farmers recently trained by USAID’s Resilience through Agriculture in South Sudan Activity on good agricultural practices. Before the training, his disappointing farming results nearly caused him to give up working in agriculture, but the training taught him to plant crops in rows rather than seed "broadcasting," resulting in significant improvements, including healthier crops that grow faster. His crops are free of pests and diseases because he practices proper weed management. Chirilo says he is educating other farmers on appropriate agricultural practices to boost food production. “I’m optimistic that with the training and application of the skills I acquired, I’ll have increased farm yield this year. With the row planting and proper weed management, anyone who passes by my field talks about it because the farm looks well organized and different from the rest,” said Chirilo.
 Workers rehabilitating the Gerguer borehole in Bilkey Payam, Akobo County. Photo: Afia Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Activity
Rehabilitated Boreholes in Akobo County Improve Access to Clean Water
USAID's Afia Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Activity rehabilitated three hand-pump boreholes in Akobo County's Bilkey Payam in May and June, providing clean water to 2,500 people. The boreholes broke down mainly due to damage from livestock. Before the boreholes were repaired, residents fetched water from unsafe streams or at boreholes in nearby villages, where the waiting time for water doubled, explained Nyabel Yiay, the chairperson of Water Management Committee of Gerguer Village in Bilkey Payam. “We were not allowed to fetch water until the owners of the boreholes first finished fetching, causing us to wait for about two hours,” she said. Beyond Akobo, USAID's Afia activity also works in Wau and Budi counties, benefitting 10,800 people with clean water in the three counties.
 Internews Regional Director for Sub-Saharan Africa Brice Rambaud (left) and USAID/South Sudan Acting Mission Director Mark A. White (right) award a certificate of appreciation to Rehema Siama Guwo of the Community Engagement Network, a group of media, arts, and cultural organizations that promote social cohesion and transformation in diverse communities through locally driven innovative multimedia programs. Photo: Internews
USAID, Internews Celebrate Accomplishments of Media Development Activity
On July 28, Acting Mission Director Mark A. White joined USAID’s partner Internews at an end-of-project celebration for the Strengthening Free and Independent Media (i-STREAM) Activity, which played an essential role in South Sudan over the past nine years in sustaining citizen access to independent media, despite the outbreak of civil war in 2013. Achievements included rapidly adapting community radio operations to reach those displaced by the civil war, and Juba-based Eye Radio becoming the most trusted source of national news. i-STREAM also increased access to information through the distribution of more than 40,000 wind-up radios across South Sudan and improved local media content and professionalism by establishing a journalism diploma program with local partner the Media Development Institute.
 Jonathan Richter (right), director of USAID's Office of Sudan and South Sudan Programs based in Washington, arrives at Gurei Primary Health Care Center in Juba on August 10 to monitor USAID-funded basic health care services. Photo: Victor Lugala/USAID
USAID-Supported Primary Health Care Center Provides Essential Services
On August 10, the director of USAID's Office of Sudan and South Sudan Programs based in Washington, Jonathan Richter, visited USAID-funded Gurei Primary Health Care Center in Juba. The facility's inpatient and outpatient services include child delivery and nutrition, family planning, treatment for tuberculosis and HIV, among others. The facility does not charge for treatment and serves a community of 10,000 people, with an average of more than 3,000 patients visiting the clinic each month for services. “I got pregnant when I was 14 years old. I have six children and they used to suffer poor health until I was introduced to the Gurei health center for family planning services. Now I’m able to space my children, they are healthy and I’m happy,” said one beneficiary.
 A nurse uses visuals to explain the role of antiretroviral therapy to HIV-positive persons. Photo: IntraHealth/Advancing HIV & AIDS Epidemic Control Activity
HIV/AIDS Epidemic Control Activity Boosts Skills of Local Organizations
Through the Advancing HIV & AIDS Epidemic Control Activity, USAID is supporting local organizations to deliver comprehensive services to communities affected by HIV in Juba. Since August 2021, USAID partner IntraHealth has provided on-the-job training, mentorship, and coaching to five local organizations and is preparing them to directly manage future funding from the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. “I didn’t know how to use presentation tools but because of the training and mentorship, I’m now an expert in data presentation," said a staff member of Community Initiative for Development Organization (CIDO). Between April and June, CIDO tested 1,690 people for HIV in Juba, of whom 200 tested positive. Those who tested positive were referred to USAID-supported health care centers for care and treatment, including anti-retroviral therapy, testing every six months for the level of viral load, and information on the importance of taking medication regularly.
 Dignity kits containing reusable sanitary napkins, soap, and other hygiene items USAID partner Samaritan's Purse distributed to girls and young women in Maiwut County, Upper Nile State. UNICEF is the cluster lead in South Sudan for water, sanitation, and hygiene. Photo: Dhoal Loang Wech, Samaritan’s Purse, South Sudan
Menstrual Dignity Kits Help Keep Girls in School in Maiwut County
Many girls and young women in South Sudan lack ready access to menstrual hygiene products, and as a result miss school and other activities during menstruation. The cost of a sanitary napkin can equal the cost of a meal, so girls and women often use sanitary napkins longer than recommended because of their high cost, thus risking potential infection, or use unsanitary products such as rags, ash, or sawdust. With funding from USAID, Samaritan’s Purse provided training in Maiwut County, Upper Nile State, on menstrual hygiene and dignity kits, which include reusable sanitary napkins, soap, and other hygiene items. “Since I was trained and received hygiene kits, I am able to put on the hygiene pad during menstruation. I understand that this pad can be washed and reused. Now I am not interrupting my mum and dad to buy me hygiene pads. The little money we have now, we use to buy food,” said one beneficiary.
 Staff of the USAID-funded Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Support Activity met in Wau with Linda Ferdinand Hussein (left), chair of the Wau County Coordination Civil Society Consultation Committee. Photo: Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Support Activity
Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Activity Begins County Consultations
To monitor, evaluate effectiveness, and apply lessons learned from USAID's assistance to the people of South Sudan, USAID's Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Support Activity has begun consultations and participatory planning with USAID partner organizations in the counties that are the focus of USAID's strategy for assistance in South Sudan. In April, USAID and 14 of its newest implementing partners signed a coordination charter to maximize positive benefits for communities receiving USAID development and humanitarian assistance by "pursuing thoughtful and efficient coordination in service of our beneficiaries through collective impact." Objectives of the charter include partnering with beneficiaries to build ownership and sustainability, and capitalizing on partners' core competencies, existing interventions, and physical locations.
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