South Sudan has faced significant challenges since gaining independence in 2011, with many of its citizens living in extreme poverty and facing food insecurity. The country remains one of the least developed globally, with minimal infrastructure and a heavy reliance on humanitarian aid. Basic services such as electricity, healthcare, water, sanitation, and education are scarce.
In response to these challenges, the South Sudan Enhancing Community Resilience and Local Governance Project (ECRP) was launched. Funded by the World Bank and implemented by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), this $45 million initiative aimed to improve access to basic infrastructure and strengthen community institutions from 2020 to 2024.
The ECRP targeted twenty of South Sudan's seventy-nine counties, focusing on "Quick Win" counties where previously planned projects were implemented and "New" counties selected based on their vulnerability. The project had four main components: community infrastructure and services, local institution strengthening, project management and learning, and contingency emergency response.
Despite obstacles such as the COVID-19 pandemic, localized conflicts, and recurrent flooding, the ECRP achieved notable results. It completed 345 sub-projects that improved access to essential services for nearly 740,000 people. Emergency dikes constructed under the project protected over 60,000 people from severe floods.
The project also generated almost 600,000 workdays of employment for skilled and unskilled workers while reactivating over 450 Boma Development Committees and Payam Development Committees. These committees played a crucial role in planning and monitoring infrastructure projects. Women represented a substantial portion of these committees' members.
Although successful in many areas, the ECRP highlighted limitations in third-party implementation. It underscored the need to strengthen government institutions responsible for providing infrastructure and public services.
Looking forward, the successor project ECRP-II aims to build on these achievements with a focus on flood resilience, disaster risk management, and institutional capacity building at all levels of government.
This story was prepared by Lukas Loeschner (Senior Urban Specialist), Droma Bank Dominic Kat (Urban Specialist), and Liam Brown (Consultant) from the World Bank.