New Vision (Kampala)
NEWS
December 6, 2005
Posted to the web December 6, 2005

By David Muwanga
Kampala

THE World Bank and other development partners have pledged to give southern Sudan $900m.

Between $350m and $400m will be given to southern Sudan by the World Bank for capacity building, roads, water, health and private sector development, an official of the bank has said.

"The goal of the bank is to commit between $350 and $400m to southern Sudan. The funds are for capacity building in education, demobilisation and private sector development with focus on micro enterprises and rural development," the bank's country director for Ethiopia and Sudan, Ishac Diwan, said in a statement recently.

The statement said several countries also pledged over $500m to the country's trust fund to help consolidate the peace agreement ending the conflict in the area.

"So far, $112m has been paid into the trust funds by the Netherlands, UK, Norway, Sweden and Iceland. Three other agreements under the programme are planned for mid December," the statement said.

The trust fund will avail $80m to finance programmes in the war-affected and under-developed areas of northern Sudan while $100m from the government will be used to improve the infrastructure.

The statement said the trust fund had provided a grant of $20m and $7.25m from the government to for health, education and equipment, procurement and accounting programmes.

The newly-established government of southern Sudan faces a development challenge where 90% of the population is estimated to be living in poverty, with one in four children likely to die before their fifth birthday.