VZCZCXRO0727
OO RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHKH #0789/01 1790520
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 280520Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4001
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

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 
 
KHARTOUM 00000789  002 OF 002 
 
 
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