Gov’t and World Bank expand cash transfer project for refugees and host communities

JUBA – South Sudan government and the World Bank on Thursday extended a cash transfer program to five new counties, aiming to provide income opportunities for refugees and host communities. The four-year, 129-million-dollar project strengthens the country’s social safety net system.

The project, known as “Shabaka Meisha,” targets 96,000 households and is implemented by the Ministries of Agriculture and Food Security, and Gender, Child and Social Welfare.

“I am excited to inaugurate Shabaka Meisha in Mundri West. This project will have a strong gender focus to tackle gender gaps and enhance women’s empowerment by ensuring that 65 percent of the targeted project beneficiaries are women,” said Aya Benjamin Warille, Minister of Gender, Child and Social Welfare.

Warille emphasized the project’s focus on female participation in local community structures to promote women’s voices and agency.

The project, now active in 15 counties, provides cash assistance to vulnerable households and climate-smart, labor-intensive work opportunities. It also offers behavioral change training to promote human capital development.

The program includes sensitization and training in financial literacy, water sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and early childhood development (ECD).

Supported by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), this is the first government-led social safety net project in Mundri West County and Western Equatoria State.

“Activities under the complementary social measures targeted at mothers and female caregivers will also equip female beneficiaries with the necessary knowledge and capacity to make better decisions on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), nutrition practices, and early childhood support,” the statement said.

Launched nationally in August 2023, the World Bank-funded project builds on previous programs.