South Sudan secures 70 mln USD grant for women empowerment

According to an official, the World Bank on Wednesday gave South Sudan a grant of 70 million dollars to advance women’s social and economic empowerment (SSWSEEP).

According to Firas Raad, the World Bank’s country manager for South Sudan, the grant is intended to assist female entrepreneurs in formalising and expanding their business operations as well as to assist victims of gender-based violence (GBV) in gaining access to crucial services that will help them heal and rebuild their lives.

Raad said that in order to lessen fragility, improve peacebuilding, and advance inclusive development, the initiative has a special emphasis on women and adolescents. In order to assure long-term advantages for future generations of South Sudanese women, he said the initiative adopts a comprehensive strategy that aims to increase the public sector’s capacity to engage more actively in the area of women’s and girls’ empowerment.

“Survivors of gender-based violence require substantial support to recover from the physical and psychological trauma that they have endured. This project will help expand their access to vital health services and psychosocial support, and will work on strengthening the prevention of GBV,” Raad told journalists in Juba, South Sudan`s capital.

He stated that by offering funds, training, and technical assistance, the project will also assist women in expanding their enterprises and enhancing their standard of living.

The SSWSEEP is made up of four parts that work together to address the unique issues limiting the growth and development of women in South Sudan. These parts are community-based socioeconomic empowerment of women, creating a facility for women to pursue their own businesses, offering services to GBV survivors, and supporting the institutional strengthening and project management.

Women have supported their families and communities for generations by engaging in entrepreneurial activities, according to Aya Benjamin Warile, minister for Gender, Child, and Social Welfare. However, her statement noted that their advancement has frequently been hampered by a combination of prevailing social norms, institutional barriers, and a lack of access to education, training, business services, and financing.

“Empowering women to participate fully in civic and economic life will make South Sudan more prosperous and peaceful. With improved financial security, other areas of women’s lives will also improve, as they can more easily afford health services, send their children to school, and are more likely to serve in leadership roles in their communities and become agents of change,” Benjamin said.