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AGI begins work in South Sudan

AGI last month formally began supporting the Government of South Sudan. The objective of our work is to strengthen the capacity of the new institutions at the centre of the Government, so they are better able to lead the country's development. Ultimately, as with all our projects, we hope that our work can help to deliver improvements to the people of South Sudan.

As South Sudan celebrates its one-year anniversary of independence, optimism for the future is high. But the country is struggling to emerge from a protracted conflict with its northern neighbour Sudan which has had significant knock-on effects within South Sudan itself. The new government of Salva Kiir, the first President of the Republic of South Sudan, faces a range of daunting challenges: the highest maternal mortality rate in the world, over 60% of the population without basic health services and only 55% with access to clean water.  Over a million of the country’s 2.3 million children are growing up without primary education. 98% of the government’s revenue comes from oil, the flow of which is currently in dispute with Sudan, and the security situation remains fragile.

AGI will be working with His Excellency Salva Kiir and his Government as they address these challenges and create the strong institutions needed to help the country’s development.

Speaking about the new project Kate Gross, Chief Executive of AGI said:

“This is a critical moment for South Sudan. This project presents unique but exciting challenges for AGI and we’re delighted to have been invited by President Kiir to support his government.”

David Brown, AGI’s Country Head in South Sudan, is a former UK Senior Civil Servant who has worked for the Government of South Sudan in 2007, the Government of Uganda from 2002 to 2004, and for the UK Department for International Development as a trade economist during the opening of the Doha Round. He also worked for five years in the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit on a wide-ranging portfolio including energy, climate change, social mobility, crime and home affairs, local government, children and family, and transport, before leading the Strategy Unit in the Department for Transport.