Getting it Right from the Start - Oxfam New Zealand

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persons displaced. All this took place in a State which should havebeen the bread basket of Southern Sudan. 13 Instead, this State becameone of 3 states to become more food insecure in the first half of 2010. 14As noted in this year‟s World Development Report, „in highly violentsocieties, … everyday experiences, such as going to school, to work, orto market, become occasions for fear. People hesitate to build housesor invest in small businesses because they can be destroyed in amoment.‟ 15 Thus in the absence of adequate attention to mitigatingsecurity threats, addressing root causes of conflict including inequitabledevelopment, and to the professionalization of the security sector, gainsin other sectors can easily be undermined.Recommendations• Commit to rigorous and systematic conflict analysis that considersnot only the prevailing political and security conditions but also theroot causes of conflict, and to regularly adapting developmentstrategies on the basis of such analysis. Conflict analysis should beconducted periodically as well as in response to changes in context;and information should be geographically disaggregated so as totake account of factors that vary between states, counties and evenlocal communities. Conflict analysis must also be gender-sensitive,meaning that the particular impact of violence and displacement onwomen and men (such as exacerbated inequalities in genderrelations) must be taken into account and reflected in programdesign.• Ensure that funding strategies reflect the criticality of the linkbetween security and development. This means that, with a view toprotecting communities from violence, donors must ensure adequatefunds for humanitarian protection programs and staff, basic servicesand development, as well as for security sector reform. For much ofthe past six years the development of South Sudan‟s fledglingsecurity sector has been slow with inadequate progress in thedevelopment of effective community-oriented policing and thestrengthening of the justice system (both formal and traditional). 16This lack of progress must be reversed so as to ensure thatdevelopment gains in other areas are not undermined.• In decisions regarding the geographical allocation of SouthSudanese and international security personnel, prioritise the need toprotect community livelihoods and food security. This means thatsecurity threats must be assessed according to their impact oncommunities such as restricted access to livelihoods and basicservices, and numbers displaced, and not just the number offatalities involved. Particular attention must be paid to the presenceof rebel commanders or armed groups that cause widespreaddisplacement and detrimentally impact upon food security in areaswith high agricultural potential – including in particular the LRA.10
3 Involve communities andstrengthen civil societyEmergency Response Team – Old Fangak, Jonglei State, October 2010, © MediarThe importance of fostering the participation of local communities and arange of CSOs including women‟s, youth, and faith-based and churchgroups in the development of South Sudan cannot be overstated.Community participation enhances the relevance and sustainability ofdevelopment initiatives; while a strong civil society facilitates goodgovernance by increasing the likelihood of local authorities being heldaccountable to the people.Those best able to determine what is needed in order to strengthencommunities are almost always the communities themselves, and theirinvolvement helps ensure community ownership of developmentinitiatives. Experience in South Sudan has shown time and again thatwithout this, results are difficult to sustain. Agencies supporting themanagement of community water resources, for example, have foundthat without community involvement in choosing the site for waterpoints, the selection of water management committee members and theestablishment of rules for maintenance and the payment of user-fees,the likelihood of water resources being maintained by communities issubstantially reduced. 17 This is basic development good practice, but isoften sidelined in the interests of meeting donor commitments in limitedtimeframes where access to communities is restricted due to long rainyseasons and poor infrastructure.It‟s not just about promoting community ownership. Donors andimplementing agencies have acknowledged that throughout years ofhumanitarian and development assistance, adequate attention has notalways been paid to the development of local capacities 18 – and11
Page 1: Joint Briefing Paper 06 September 2
Page 4 and 5: Recommendations1. Balance developme
Page 6 and 7: IntroductionOn 9 July, millions of
Page 8 and 9: esponding to a worst case scenario
Page 12 and 13: anecdotal evidence suggests that in
Page 14 and 15: 4 Ensure an equitable distribution
Page 16 and 17: 5 Prioritise the most vulnerable an
Page 18 and 19: • Targeting strategies must be ba
Page 20 and 21: 6 Support pro-poor, sustainablelive
Page 22 and 23: interventions must support, not exc
Page 24 and 25: ‘There’s a school, but thereare
Page 26 and 27: 8 Allow sufficient time for transit
Page 28 and 29: 9 Provide timely, predictable funds
Page 30 and 31: pooled funds managed by private con
Page 32 and 33: comes up. We should have a good fiv
Page 34 and 35: ConclusionFollowing substantial sum
Page 36 and 37: 1516171819sufficient farming commun
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Getting it Right from the Start - Oxfam New Zealand

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