AfDB to support South Sudan on disaster risk financing

South Sudan said on Sunday that it has been granted access to funding under the Africa Disaster and Risk Financing Program (ADRF), an initiative of the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) aimed at supporting poor countries to mitigate the socio-economic, fiscal and financial impacts of disasters.
James Alic Garang, Governor of the Bank of South Sudan addressing journalists on Sunday in Juba (Photo by Awan Achiek)

By Denis Ejulu

South Sudan said on Sunday that it has been granted access to funding under the Africa Disaster and Risk Financing Program (ADRF), an initiative of the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) aimed at supporting poor countries to mitigate the socio-economic, fiscal and financial impacts of disasters.

“South Sudan had opportunity like other poor countries to be granted access under a financing arrangement called Africa Disaster and Risk Financing Program, it is one of those that are going to allow us to connect South Sudan with Ethiopia and other countries in the region,” James Alic Garang, the governor of the Bank of South Sudan told journalists in Juba.

Alic made these remarks after attending the annual meeting of the African Development Bank held in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi from May 27-31 2024.

The meeting was attended by African heads of state, ministers, and central bank governors, members of the development community, and the private sector.

Alic noted that regional leaders discussed ways to connect South Sudan to the region in terms of road infrastructure, adding that the country is among those in the East and Horn of Africa region with the least infrastructure.

“South Sudan is open for visitors, there is so much at home and there is a lot beyond the oil, this is an issue that we have tried to market during these meetings,” he disclosed.

President Salva Kiir on Thursday granted full independence to the central bank as part of efforts to avert political interference as well as strengthen its ability to control foreign exchange rates and inflation.

Alic appreciated the decision as it will enable the central bank to operate in a conducive environment.

The Africa Disaster and Risk Financing Program (ADRF), launched in 2015 and implemented by Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) and the World Bank, supports the development of risk financing strategies at regional, national and local levels to help African countries make informed decisions to improve post-disaster financial response capacity in order to mitigate the socio-economic, fiscal and financial impacts of disasters.

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