By Gladys Fred Kole
Netherlands has pledged 5,000,000 euros to fund a pilot program in four countries in the Nile basin, including South Sudan.
The program dubbed, “The Water at the Heart of Climate Action (WHCA)” will run from 2023–2028, within the Nile River Basin countries, including Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, and Uganda.
It aims to unlock barriers across the whole hydro-meteorological value chain and ensure meaningful participation in the decision-making of local authorities, actors, communities, and marginalized people.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Network (IFRC), Netherlands Red Cross, Red Crescent Climate Centre Pillar 4 (anticipatory action and community-led adaptation) Pillar 5 (cross-cutting issues) were part of the launch.
The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction is responsible for pillar 1 (water-related risk knowledge and governance).
The World Meteorological Organization handles pillar 2 (observation, monitoring, and forecasting).
The three organizations will be further strengthened by a dedicated UN multi-partner financing mechanism to fund weather and climate surface-based observations.
The implementation approach puts the country teams in the lead in the implementation of the program.
It will run from 2023–2028, with a total budget of EUR 55,000,000 funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Netherlands.
Speaking at the launch yesterday, the minister of humanitarian assistance and disaster management, Albino Akol Atak, said that he believes that we are most in need of these services.
He added that they need to use this assistance so that they can reduce the disasters related to water that have been on for a while now with no hope of reducing soon.
“It is our commitment; we declare that the government of South Sudan will coordinate with all these institutions that are involved, giving it the best of what we can do so that partners can implement this program,” Abino said.
He urged the implementing partners to help take action to reduce the disasters.
Meanwhile, the ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to South Sudan, Marjen Schipers, urged parties to maintain this positive spirit and commitment because this is what makes a difference.
“I would like to encourage you to explore ways through which this project can contribute meaningfully to addressing the challenges identified,” Schipers urged.
The current climate crisis has led to a dramatic exacerbation of the water crisis and an increase in weather- and water-related risks.